part of our international borders."
In the proposed FY'06 federal budget,
the Administration recommended elimi-
nating the Port Security Grant program,
which Congress created after 9/11 to reim-
burse U.S. maritime facilities for pre-
approved projects required by federal reg-
ulations to enhance national security. In
its place would be the newly created
Transportation Infrastructure Protection
(TIP) program that would lump grant pro-
posals from ports together with requests
from a host of other transportation-related
industries.
In written testimony to the Senate Com-
merce, Science, and Transportation Com-
mittee in February, Jean Godwin, AAPA's
executive vice president and general
counsel, argued that lumping port security
into the TIP program would "pit an under-
funded border protection program (port
security) against underfunded domestic
transportation protection programs (such
as transit)." She noted that AAPA has
"great concerns" and "encourages this
Committee to oppose this new structure."
Guarino & Cox
Expands Staff
Guarino & Cox, L.L.C., naval architects
and marine designers, has been increasing
its staff in order to accommodate the con-
tinuing rise in demand for its services.
Recent key additions include Brian
Bosarge who brings over 28 years of
experience in structural design and
numerical control programming. Prior to
joining Guarino & Cox, Bosarge was the
Manager of Structural and Outfitting
Design for a major barge building facility.
He will assume similar duties with Guari-
no & Cox.
Kristen Posey and Sam Leimer have
also joined the staff of Guarino & Cox.
Posey is a graduate of Webb Institute of
Naval Architecture, and was with a west
coast design firm before coming to Guari-
no & Cox. Leimer has a BS degree in
naval architecture from the University of
New Orleans. Past experience includes
work with a large offshore supply vessel
operator.
Guarino & Cox will remain near New
Orleans on the North Shore of Lake
Pontchartrain. The new facility at 19399
Helenbirg Road, Suite 203, Covington,
LA 70433 offers over twice the space pre-
viously available and provides ample
offices for the expanded staff and future
growth. Telephone and Fax numbers are
unchanged. The relocation is expected to
be completed by the first week of June.
The company, founded by Greg Cox
and Sal Guarino, is a diversified naval
architectural firm providing design, con-
sulting and production engineering ser-
vices for all types of vessels. Originally
known for offshore support vessel design,
they have recently been engaged in the
design of a number of ocean service dou-
ble skin tank barges and tugs. They have
also provided design and production sup-
port services for the double skinning of
several existing single skin barges.
MAS Industries
Opens New Facility
MAS Industries opened a new facility
in Jefferson Parish to support the U.S.
Navy's Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) pro-
gram, among other business opportuni-
ties. The new facility is 70,000 sq. ft. and
will be used for manufacturing and distri-
bution. MAS Industries received a con-
tract from Marinette Marine, part of the
Lockheed Martin LCS team, to provide
state-of-the-art aluminum panels, high-
temperature insulation, and water jet cut-
ting to the Lockheed Martin team's first
two LCSs, designated Flight 0. The design
calls for an aluminum superstructure built
on a steel hull. LCS will provide the Navy
with a new type of surface combatant,
designed to dominate the world's coastal
waters.
The facility also supports a new part-
nership between MAS Industries and Fric-
tion Stir Link for friction stir joining. This
partnership enables the capability to join
pieces of aluminum up to 1.5 inches thick,
with width and length limited only by
transportation width restrictions. The
companies plan to open additional facili-
ties on the mid-Atlantic and Pacific
Northwest coasts in the next two years.
Friction Stir Joining uses a mechanical
tool to actually stir the junction of the two
pieces of aluminum being joined; thus
making two pieces into one without melt-
ing, the addition of welding wire or any
other contaminants. This creates a bond
that is designed to be as pure and strong as
the parent material.
FarSounder Wins
DHS SBIR Contract
FarSounder has been awarded a Small
Business Innovative Research (SBIR)
contract to demonstrate the feasibility of a
low cost 3D sonar system for underwater
threat detection to protect the nation's
ports. The resulting system could provide
the first underwater port security system
practical for use in all US ports and along
extensive areas of US coastlines and
inland waterways.
16 • MarineNews • June, 2005
Circle 252 on Reader Service Card
(Continued from page 11)
JUNEMN2005 2(9-16).qxd 5/25/2005 5:25 PM Page 16
Digital Wave Publishing