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50 MN April 2011 launch in mid 2011; Spearhead (Joint High Speed Vessel (JHSV 1), sched- uled for launch in mid 2011 and delivery in December 2011; and Vigilant (JHSV 2), scheduled for launch in late 2011 and delivery in mid 2012. Over the course of the next 12 months, Austal will commence the construction of LCS 6, the first vessel awarded under the LCS 10 ship block buy contract, and JHSVs 3, 4 and 5. For the LCS and JHSV programs, Austal is teamed with General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems, a ship systems integrator, responsible for the design, integration and testing of the ship’s mission sys- tems. Black Ball Ferry Purchases Victoria Express Black Ball Ferry Line is purchasing the business operations of the Victoria Express from Victoria Rapid Transit. The Harmon family formed Victoria Rapid Transit in 1990 and over the past two decades grew the ferry business to include service to Victoria, Friday Harbor on San Juan Island and Port Angeles. The ferry has also offered numerous private char- ters for individuals and organizations throughout the Strait of Juan de Fuca, the Puget Sound, as far south as Westport and even into Lake Washington. Black Ball Ferry Line operates the M.V. Coho providing year-round car and walk-on ferry service between Port Angeles, Wa. and downtown Victoria, B.C., with up to eight sailings daily during the summer season. Following its winter break, the principals of Victoria Rapid Transit, Inc. will focus on launching their new Explorer Series of tours, based out of Port Angeles. The Victoria Express will not resume scheduled service between Port Angeles and Victoria. The new Explorer Series will be offered under Victoria Rapid Transit’s new name, Expeditions NW. Signal Wins $47M ATB Contract Signal International has been awarded a $47m contract by Kirby Ocean Transport Company of Houston, Texas, to build an articulat- ed tug/barge (ATB) unit with an option for an additional unit. The ATB vessel is comprised of a 20,000 dwt ocean bulk barge with a 6,000 bhp ATB ocean tug. The barge will measure 480 ft by 90 ft by 36 ft and will be outfitted with Ocean Tug & Barge Engineering’s Articouple con- nection. The 6,000 hp tugboat will be 125 ft by 42 ft by 22 ft built and classed to ABS Maltese Cross, +A1 Ocean Towing Service standards. The ATB will transport dry-bulk com- modities in U.S. coastwise trade. The barge fabrication work will com- mence in the second quarter of 2011 at Signal’s continuous flow manufac- turing facility in Orange, Texas, which has 450,000 sq ft of covered fabrication area. The first ATB will be completed in 14 months. The option- al ATB can be built in less than 12 months. Bay to Build PSV for Tidewater Fincantieri Marine Group’s Bay Shipbuilding Company located in Sturgeon Bay, Wis. will build two 303-ft platform supply vessels of the MMC 887 LH PSV design from MMC Ship Design of Poland for New Orleans, La.-based Tidewater Marine, LLC. The Deepwater PSVs will have diesel-electric z-drive propulsion, dynamic positioning 2 systems, fire-fighting class 2 (FFV 2) systems, and be polar class 7 and ENVIRO. The first vessel is sched- uled for delivery in the fourth quarter of 2012 and the second platform sup- ply vessel is scheduled for delivery in the second quarter of 2013. Foss Receives Safety Award on West Coast The Pacific Maritime Association honored Foss Maritime’s ongoing commitment to safety and accident prevention with four awards. Foremost was the recognition of Foss Line Service for reducing its annual injury rate more than any of its Washington state-based competitors. Foss line-handlers recorded no time lost for injuries in 2010. In addition, Foss Line Services took home three other honors. They included first place Safety Award, Washington State, based on incident rates as deter- mined by federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recordable injury reporting; first place Accident Prevention Award, West Coast-wide, based on incident rates as determined by OSHA recordable injury reporting; Accident Prevention Award, West Coast-wide, for a zero injury rate. PEOPLE & COMPANY NEWS Photo courtesy Good Relations Inc. Photo courtesy Aukema & Associates Line Service team members holding their awards, from left, Supervisor Dan Kerege, Manager Brian Goodwin and Supervisors Mel Cordova and Dan Ryles.
