Maritime Reporter, July 1994

<BODY> <div> Avondale, AESA In Tech Exchange Pact Avondale Industries, Inc. and Astilleros Espanoles SA (AESA) have entered into a cooperative agreement to exchange commercial ship designs, market analysis and ship production technology. Albert L. Bossier, Jr., Avon- dale's chairman and CEO, said the agreement was a significant step toward Avondale's goal of acquiring commercial shipbuilding contracts, saying AESA will be a source of competitive commercial ship designs and efficient shipbuilding technol- ogy. Juan Taus Rubio, senior vice president for AESA, said his com- pany had embarked on a similar operation to improve efficiency and competitiveness six years ago, re- sulting in a dramatic improvement in production costs, and he hoped Avondale would realize the same benefits. For more information on Avondale, Circle 115 on Reader Service Card For more information on Astilleros Espanoles, Circle 116 on Reader Service Card Rockwell Wins $10.5 Million Navy SATCOM Contract Rockwell has received a $10.5 million award to provide in-service engineering to support the U.S. Navy's Super High Frequency (SHF) Satellite Communication (SAT- COM) systems. The five-year, cost- plus-fixed-fee contract was awarded to Rockwell subsidiary Collins In- ternational Service Co. (CISCO), by the Navy Regional Contracting Cen- ter (NRCC), San Diego. Rockwell engineers will install and maintain specific components and subsystems that comprise the SHF SATCOM systems. The con- tract includes Inspect and Repair as Necessary (IRAN) of the systems. This work will be conducted by Rockwell subcontractor Eldyne, Inc., San Diego. For more information on Rockwell, Circle 117 on Reader Service Card Keppel Units Win $38.6 Million Rig Conversion Deal Two companies in the Keppel Group, Keppel Shipyard and Far East Levingston Shipbuilding (FELS), have jointly secured a con- tract to repair and convert a semi- submersible drilling rig, theLiuhua- FPS, to a floating production sys- tem. FELS will reportedly handle the major portion of the contract, awarded by Reading & Bates Devel- opment Company. Completion and delivery is expected in April 1995. Evergreen To Buy Five Containerships From MHI Evergreen Group has reached an agreement with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) to purchase five 4,900-TEU containerships. A firm contract will reportedly be signed later this year, and delivery of the first vessel is expected in early 1996. The addition of the vessels will increase Evergreen's fleet to 80 ves- sels with total capacity of 180,000- TEUs. The new vessels will operate between the Far East and the U.S. Global Ocean Carriers Names Bahu Chairman Global Ocean Carriers Ltd. has named Nabil Bahu chairman. Mr. Bahu replacesAlan Kennedy, who will remain a director. Another director, James Davis, has been named deputy chairman, replacing Mr. Bahu. Stolt Partner Names Olssen New Chairman Stolt Partner appointedChrister Olssen, president of Wallenius Lines, to replace Jacob Stolt- Nielsen, Jr. as chairman. Mr. Ol- ssen has been on the board since 1990 and a director of Stolt-Nielsen SA since 1993. The board decided Stolt Partner should have an inde- pendent chairman, as the majority of shareholders are not affiliated with Stolt Parcel Tankers Inc., which owns 44 percent of the shares. Mr. Stolt-Nielsen will continue to serve as a member of the board. Pena Announces Vessel Design Compliance Initiatives Secretary of Transportation Federico Pena announced several initiatives designed to enhance maritime policy reform and has di- rected the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) to execute a four-point program to that end. This is the third element of the administration's shipbuild- ing initiative and its proposed mari- time security program. The initia- tives involve vessel design compli- ance programs and eliminating unnecessary regulations which im- pede U.S. shipbuilding and operat- ing competitiveness. Secretary Pena said that the initiatives would in no way jeopar- dize the safety of passengers, crew or the environment. "These critical safety and environmental goals can be achieved while opening new av- enues for U.S. ship builders and ship operators to compete on a glo- bal scale," he said. The four-point program would include: • Establi company that instituted a rigorous shing compliance op- tions so that a shipbuilder or owner can rely on classification society standards, rather than specific USCG regulatory requirements. • Accepting regulatory compli- ance verification by qualified, re- sponsible classification societies and not only from the American Bureau of Shipping which, being the official classification society of the U.S. gov- ernment, inspects U.S. vessels us- ing USCG construction require- ments. • Establishing a model company program whereby the vessels of a be inspected less frequently by the USCG. • Establishing a USCG Oversight Program to verify the quality man- agement program of participating shipping companies and classifica- tion societies. Provisions are also included to accept certain items of equipment that have been approved by other governments that have approval systems equivalent to the U.S.'s. "The goal is to make the Coast Guard regulatory requirements less bur- densome, more efficient and effec- tive for the U.S. maritime industry," Secretary Pena said. Provisions will be initiated using a voluntary program developed by the USCG in cooperation with the maritime industry. A pilot program begins this month to evaluate the alternative compliance. Volunteers are being solicited for the program and six companies have indicated interest in participating using ships whose Certificates of Inspection are soon to expire. Secretary Pena urged the ship- building and ship operating commu- nities to familiarize themselves with the initiatives and determine how they may enhance their business plans. "These initiatives, taken to- gether with the administration's other maritime reform initiatives, are important steps toward achiev- ing our goal of an internationally competitive U.S. maritime indus- try," he said. 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