View non-flash version
U.S. Report • Ship Repair Repair Market Gains Muscle Shipyards around the world are facing increasingly stringent environmental rules and regula- tions, adding additional expense to a business sector with an already reputed thin bottom line. Nonetheless, to stay in business shipyards must continuously enhance their capabilities and compliance, in order to successfully woo and complete lucrative jobs. U.S. shipyards have aggressively been augmenting traditional repair expertise with the tools and systems needed to prosper in 2000 and far beyond. The ensuing editorial updates significant activities and enhancements at U.S. ship repair yards. Detyens Shipyards based in North Charleston, S.C., is continuing its upbeat course of developing trusted relationships with customers along the U.S. East Coast — specifically with Hvide Marine, Inc. The yard com- pleted two jobs for Hvide this past year — ITB Seab- ulk Magnachem and tanker M/V Seabulk America. The latter visited Detyens' drydock for routine work and had its KORT nozzle, which had been installed several years earlier, removed from its hull and discarded. A new owner-supplied propeller was machined and fitted to the existing. Detyens has also worked with Tyco Submarine Sys- tems with the drydocking of various cable layers. Global Mariner has been at the yard's drydock on sev- eral occasions, as well as other Tyco-owned ships, mainly Global Link, Charlie Brown and Long Lines. Most of the work completed for Tyco encompassed cleaning and painting of hulls, repairs to bowthrusters, and in the case of Global Mariner, the rebuilding of its port and starboard propulsion thrusters this past March. Seaboard Ship Management has also worked diligently with Detyens by bring- ing in six of their vessels to the yard throughout the past 16 months. Each vessel was outfitted with controllable pitch pro- pellers and almost all required major repairs, including disassembly and over- haul of the hubs and blades. In general, ramp repairs take place as well, stressing on the renewal of wasted steel members, blasting and painting. More notable was the yard's closing of the largest commercial reactivation and conversion in the U.S. with work on LNG Carrier Galleoma. Formerly known as Arzew, the vessel, which is on charter from Argent Marine Services to Shell Bermuda Overseas, Ltd., received a new compressed air system, and conversion of its storeroom into an auxiliary machinery room, as well as new steering gear. The vessel also had its mooring arrangement and life boats modi- fied, along with an upgrade of its integrat- ed bridge and work on its cargo tank, fire and main sprinkler system and electric motors. Newport News Shipbuilding received a call on July 21 to perform emergency repairs on Carnival Cruise Lines' Paradise. The job is significant in that it will be the first time ever that a U.S. yard will perform a repair to an Azipod unit. The vessel experienced a problem with one of its Azipod propulsion units short- ly after departing from Miami on July 16. Scheduled for a seven-day Caribbean cruise, the vessel was brought back to port for observation, where Carnival engineers subsequently contacted Newport News later that week to perform the repair job. Carnival expects that the ship will resume service on August 13. Regu- larly scheduled for work at Newport News is M/V PFC James Anderson, Jr., a 755 ft. (230.1 m) Military Sealift Command (MSC) pre-positioning ship with a beam of 90 ft. (27,4 m), which arrived at the yard on July 21. Chartered by Maersk Lines, the vessel is scheduled to undergo hull blasting and painting; over- haul of four deck cranes; survey and repair of main propulsion equipment; repair of machinery compo- nents; cargo equipment and deck equipment survey and repair. The vessel will remain at Newport News for approx- imately one month. Its trio of sisterships — Bonny- man, Baugh and Phillips — have all been drydocked Newport News Shipbuilding was selected to get Carnival s Par- adise back up and running after the ship experienced problems with its Azipod unit. This is the first time an Azipod unit has been repaired in the U.S. and repaired by the yard within the last nine months. San Diego-based NASSCO commenced a six-month complex overhaul this past February of USS Peleliu — the first overhaul of a U.S. Navy amphibious assault ship by a private-sector contractor. With work set for completion this August, at a cost of more than $100 million, major tasks to be performed by the yard include hydroblasting and painting of the hull and flight deck, tank and well-deck repairs, re-piping of the onboard sewage system, installation of a new air con- ditioning plant and a reverse-osmosis water-purifica- tion system. Various electronics modifications and upgrades were also completed onboard. The vessel's 'Waterfront Academy' To Teach Students About Shipbuilding National Steel and Shipbuilding Company (NASSCO) and the Sweet- water Union High School District announced the creation of a "Water- front Academy" that will train high school seniors in ship manufacturing technologies beginning in the next school year. This innovative program is expected to bring 60 to 75 incoming seniors to NASSCO's bayfront shipbuilding facility for both academic classes and career preparation. During a six-hour school day in classrooms currently under construction at NASSCO, stu- dents will receive hands-on training from the company's industry experts and will study academics with their Sweetwater teachers. Training and mentoring will be offered in trades such as electrical, machinery, pipefit- ting, sheet metal, ship fitting, rigging, and welding. Students will learn skills in applied mathematics, physical sci- ence and blueprint reading, and the use of computers, manufacturing tools, machinery, and rigging equipment. Students who successfully complete the ship manufacturing and academic courses will earn their high school diploma. After graduation and a 240- hour internship, students will qualify for available entry-level employment at NASSCO. They can also choose to work at other companies or continue their education at a community college or university. NASSCO's President Richard Vort- mann said, "The Waterfront Academy offers the high school student interest- ed in pursuing a course of study in the skilled manufacturing and contractor trades an opportunity to obtain needed training and education. The typical high school, today, no longer offers this type of training through traditional "shop" classes. Based on NASSCO's need for additional people to work on our current and future shipbuilding programs, as well as replacing employ- ees who are expected to retire or leave through normal attrition, we expect to NASSCO welder Ramon See speaks with stu- dents about training opportunities at NASS- CO's Waterfront Academy, scheduled to open in the fall. be hiring up to 1,000 people over the next three to four years. NASSCO is looking at students in this program as our future core of skilled craftsmen and a future source of supervisors, man- agers and engineers." There are several local community partners supporting the creation and administration of the new Waterfront Academy. The Regional Occupational Program (ROP) will work with NASS- CO's instructors. August, 2000 27
