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CONTRACTS FBM Marine Secures Order For Portuguese Option Boats Portuguese ferry operator Transtejo S.A. has confirmed an order for two further catamaran ferries from FBM Marine of Cowes, Isle of Wight, U.K. These two option boats will bring the number of FBM-supplied 147.6-ft. (45-m) river catamarans for this operator to six. The first four craft operate a regular service on the 14-nm route across the River Tagus between Lisbon and Montijo. The newbuildings will be con- structed to the same design as the four existing craft, and will travel at a service speed of 20 knots, car- rying 500 passengers with a maxi- mum cruising speed capability of 25 knots. To facilitate a speedy turnaround at low height pontoon berths, two wide entrances will be provided on each side with hydraulically operated ramp doors. The vessels are due for delivery in September and November 1997. STN Atlas Elektronik To Supply Simulator For Training Center On September 2, STN Atlas Elektronik's Bremen-based Simulation Division announced the award of a contract to design and install a multi-purpose train- ing simulator at the Warnemunde Maritime Simulation Centre, Rostock, part of Wismar Polytechnic. The system will reportedly be the largest of its type assembled in Germany, and will be used for training ships' masters and pilots, students, and for research applica- tions. Its bridge section will com- prise instructor and database preparation stations together with a main deck area equipped with a full range of combined radar/ECDIS functions. The bridge unit will be connected to three, fully equipped own-ship trainee cubicles for ship handling operations, each with 120-degree visual systems. The contract also calls for design and installation of comple- mentary engine control and VTS simulators. Funding for the com- plete project is being jointly pro- vided by the state government of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and the German Ministry of Research & Technology, with the Federal Ministry of Transport con- tributing additional assistance for the VTS section of the installation. C&M Technology Awarded NSWC Contract C&M Technology, Inc., Old Saybrook, Conn., has been award- ed a contract by the Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC) in Crane, Ind., for the fabrication of a portable pressure test chamber. According to company President George Waugh, this award com- plements current pressure vessel work being performed for NSWC in Newport, R.I. The company has designed and fabricated these units and their associated control systems since 1984. NCL Awards SeaVision $2 M Contract SeaVision, Inc. has been award- ed a contract reportedly worth in excess of $2 million, involving the installation of an interactive tele- vision system onboard Norwegian Cruise Line's (NCL) S/S Norway. The first stage of the project, scheduled to commence last month, involves complete renewal of the ship's television distribution and broadcast systems, and the installation of new televisions throughout the vessel. "Norwegian Cruise Line was the launch customer for the SeaVision interactive television system onboard the M/S Dreamward last year," said Robert G. Walters, executive vice president of NCL. "Based on that experience, we decided the time was right to offer our passengers aboard the Norway the improved services and increased entertainment options provided by the SeaVision sys- tem," added the executive. Kvaerner Installasjon Contracts With MFI Kvaerner Installasjon has awarded a contract for delivery of eight multiphase meters to Statoil's Gullfaks satellite project to Stavanger-based Multi-Fluid International (MFI). The meters will be used for well testing and allocation metering of produced oil and gas. The compact meters employ microwave technology and advanced electronics to determine flow rates without any separation. MFI considers the award an important reference contract, since it follows a comprehensive test program performed by Norsk Hydro at its research center in Porsgrunn, where all available systems for multiphase metering were tested. MFI will also soon deliver the first unit of a subsea version of the meter to Kongsberg Off- shore/Statoil. AmClyde Receives Army Crane Order AmClyde Engineered Products, Inc. received a contract from the U.S. Army through Bollinger Shipyard, Inc. of Bollinger, La., to design and build a 115-ton floating marine crane — a project valued at $6.9 million. AmClyde designed the crane at its headquarters in St. Paul, Minn., and manufacturing will be performed in Slidell, La. The crane is designed to operate in unprotected waters in up to Sea State 3. The Army will reportedly use the unit to offload heavy mili- tary equipment, such as battle tanks. The contract calls for deliv- ery of the crane in 1998, and may be expanded to include a total of six cranes. Tracor Acquires Cordant, Wins Navy Contract Defense electronics company Tracor, Inc., located in Austin, Texas, and Reston, Va.-based Cordant, Inc., an information tech- nology company, announced a definitive agreement providing for Tracor's purchase of all Cordant's outstanding shares. The cash pur- chase price of $65 million is sub- ject to contingent payments up to an additional $15 million, based upon Cordant's performance in 1996 and the potential award of a large contract. The transaction, publicized on September 3, was expected to close by September 30. "The acquisition of Cordant is another key step in our strategic goal to strengthen Tracor's posi- tion in the rapidly growing tech- nology market. A substantial por- tion of Tracor's business includes a broad range of information tech- nology applications for both Department of Defense (DOD) and non-defense customers," said Tracor Chairman and President James B. Skaggs. Tracor will establish a separate business unit, Tracor Information Systems Co., comprised of Cordant, Inc., under the continued leadership of Peter P. Kusek, and Quality Systems Inc., currently a subsidiary of Tracor's Vitro Corp., headed by William Shernit. It is expected that half of the new unit's sales will be to the DOD and the other half primarily to non-DOD federal government agencies and the U.S. Postal Service. Additionally, on September 10, Tracor Applied Sciences, Inc. announced the receipt of a $38- million contract, including options, from the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD), Patuxent River, Md., for the provision of engineering and technical services for Exterior Communications Systems in sup- port of the Special Communications Branch at St. Inigoes, Md. Under this five-year contract, Tracor will provide design, development, integration, test and evaluation, installation and integrated logistics for Navy, Joint and National Agency com- munications-electronics (C-E) sys- tems, including shipboard exterior communications systems, mobile and transportable C-E systems and airborne communications sys- tems. Litton Awarded $72.4 M For Continuation Of Navy Contract The U.S. Navy has awarded $72.4 million to Litton's Ingalls Shipbuilding division, Pascagoula, Miss., for the second year of a five- year contract to continue technical and engineering services in sup- port of the Navy's fleet of Ticonderoga class Aegis guided missile cruisers and Spruance and ("Contracts" continued on page 30) 16 Maritime Reporter/Engineering News
