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Navy Awards Lockheed Contract To Construct Third Dock Landing Ship The U.S. Navy has announced the award of a construction con- tract to Lockheed Shipbuilding and Construction Company, Se- attle, Wash., to build the third ship of the Whidbey Island class dock landing ships. The ship, to be known as LSD-43, will be built at Lockheed's Harbor Island ship- yard in Seattle. Contract award value is $271.4 million which in- cludes $62.8 million already awarded to Lockheed on October 29, 1982, for the purchase of Long Lead Time Materials (LLTM). The LSD-43 construction con- tract signed by Lockheed Ship- building president L.A. Smith and U.S. Navy officials (Naval Sea Systems Command) in the na- tion's capital, calls for Lockheed to launch LSD-43 in December 1985. The 609-foot ship, which will not be named until it is launched, is the third of three U.S. Navy dock landing ships under con- tract to Lockheed. This contract, the third in less than two years, brings to almost $1 billion the contract awards for the three ships. LSD-41 and LSD-42 are now under construction at Lockheed's Seattle shipyard. The LSD-41 (named Whidbey Island) is 50 percent complete, and will be launched June 10, 1983. The LSD- 42 is approximately 10 percent built and will be launched in August 1984. LSD-42 will not be named until its launching. The Navy's award of the con- struction contract for the LSD- 43 will enable Lockheed Ship- building to maintain its current workforce of approximately 3,300 employees. Many craft employees now involved in extensive over- hauls of Navy destroyers since February 1982, will be reassigned from Lockheed's overhaul facility to duties on LSD-43 construction when the final destroyer is deliv- ered to the Navy in June 1983. The Whidbey Island-class dock landing ships are amphibious as- sault ships designed to carry combat-ready U.S. Marines and their equipment to designated areas around the world. At those designated points, the Lockheed- built ships launch their 87-foot by 47-foot air cushion landing craft (LCACs) from the ship's 440-foot hollow wet well. The ship lowers its stern gate, floods ballast tanks, lowers itself into the sea, and allows the LCACs — loaded with the Ma- rines, tanks, and other equipment — to exit the ship. The troops are then carried onto and over the shoreline to tactical assault points ashore while the LSD-41/ 42/43 sits "over the horizon" to await the return of the LCACs and Marines. The LCACs (Landing Craft, Air Cushion in Navy terminol- ogy) are being built for the Navy under a contract awarded to Bell Aerospace division of Textron Industries at Bell's New Orleans facility. The Whidbey Island-class dock landing ships are designed to re- place the aging Thomaston class (LSD-28) dock landing ships as that class of ships reaches the end of its 30-year service life. The first of those ships is sched- uled to be removed from active fleet status coincidental with the commissioning of Whidbey Island (LSD-41) in late 1985. Triboro Industries Names Forrest Vice President Triboro Industries Inc., the en- gine service and rebuilding spe- cialists headquartered in Bronx, New York, recently announced that J. Douglas Forrest has been appointed as vice president with primary responsibilities in ma- rine and industrial divisions. Mr. Forrest was formerly pres- ident of the container division, BFC Marine Services in Brook- lyn, N.Y. Prior to joining that company, he was executive vice president of Arthur Tickle Engi- neering Works Inc. of New York. IT'S 9 A.M. MONDAY. Where is your ship? Where is your cargo? 4 ^^— •^vvT KNOW. Moran tracks your vessel and all cost items involved. If you want to Know more about the best vessel attendance system in the industry, call Bob Black, president of Moran Shipping Agencies. I'm on call 24 hours to make sure you get the answers you need about the system you need. It takes 45 years of experience and a lot of assurance to say it. ..but now we're sure. Moran's Boarding Agents' Vessel Attendance System has been identified by experts in this industry as the leading system without equal. MORAN SHIPPING AGENCIES Headquarters: Houston (713) 223-8152 or (713) 974-7763 Serving 60 ports on the Atlantic, Gulf and West Coasts. 64 Write 637 on Reader Service Card Maritime Reporter/Engineering News
