• News

Harris swoops on Schlumberger Satcom business

Harris (NYSE:HRS) has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the Global Connectivity Services (GCS) business from Schlumberger Information Solutions, an operating unit of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB).

The acquisition will significantly extend Harris’ capabilities as a global provider of managed satellite communications services for customers that include the offshore energy and maritime industries. Schlumberger GCS will be combined with recently acquired CapRock Communications to form Harris CapRock Communications.

Both Schlumberger GCS and Caprock are important players in the VSAT market – an increasingly popular communications option with many shipowners.

Schlumberger GCS provides global communication services for a wide range of customers primarily in the oil and gas industries, including Schlumberger. Its main operations are in the United Kingdom, Norway, Singapore and the U.S., and include 12 globally deployed teleports, a 24×7 Network Operations Center (NOC), worldwide terrestrial infrastructure, and VSAT manufacturing capabilities in the U.K. and Singapore.

The agreement to acquire Schlumberger GCS follows the Harris acquisition of CapRock Communications on July 30. CapRock has four self-owned and operated teleports and 11 regional support centers across North America, Central and South America, Europe, West Africa and Asia Pacific.

“Combining Schlumberger GCS with CapRock Communications will create an organization with unsurpassed global satellite network capabilities, broad service offerings, and a large experienced service team to provide customers with superior remote and in-the-field support,” said Howard L. Lance, chairman, president and CEO of Harris. “Harris CapRock Communications will be able to use its capabilities and expertise to offer customers the most secure, reliable and efficient solutions in the industry.”

“Schlumberger has successfully developed its Global Connectivity Services business over the past 10 years to reach an extensive global products and services offering. This acquisition by Harris will ensure continued growth and new technology deployment in a focused communications organization,” said Tony Bowman, president of Schlumberger Information Solutions. “Schlumberger will continue to take advantage of these capabilities once the transaction is concluded through a long-term contract with Harris CapRock Communications.”

November 8, 2010

Pirates extort record ransom

 

The 319,360 dwt, Marshall Islands registered, Samho Dream with a crew of five Koreans and 19 Filipinos, was released at around 11:30 p.m., Saturday night, according to the Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

The owner, Samho Shipping, reportedly paid a ransom of more than $9 million — the largest amount thus far extorted from a shipowner by Somali pirates.

The ship had been seized approximately 600 nautical miles off the Somali coast carrying roughly $170 million worth of Iraqi crude oil.

An official from the Foreign Ministry said yesterday that “the Samho Dream is currently being escorted to a safe location by the Korean naval ship Wang-gun from the Cheonghae Unit, and is expected to land at the port of Salalah in Oman this Thursday.”

The president of Samho Shipping, Sohn Yong-ho, told Joonang Daily that the crew is in good condition, but he would not disclose the exact amount paid to the pirates, nor how much of the ransom came from insurance payouts.

The Singapore-registered chemical tanker MV Golden Blessing was also released by pirates Saturday, It had been seized on June 28 and carrying a crew of 19 Chinese was released for a reported ransom of $2.8 million.

November 8, 2010

$2.1 million penalties in Gould pollution case

Galliano, La., headquartered Offshore Vessels LLC (OSV), formerly Edison Chouest Offshore Vessels LLC, was on Thursday sentenced in U.S. District Court in New Orleans to pay a criminal fine of $1,750,000 and remit a payment of $350,000 as community service to the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation. The community service funds are to be used to study polar water pollution and protection of vulnerable marine ecosystems in the Antarctic region. OSV also will serve a period of probation for three years, during which it will be required to operate under an Environmental Compliance Plan.

OSV pleaded guilty on July 22, 2010, to knowingly discharging waste oil from one of its vessels, in violation of the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships (APPS).

“The criminal fine in this case will serve as a strong deterrent to all vessel companies, American and foreign, against deliberately violating the laws enacted to protect oceans,” said Ignacia S. Moreno, Assistant Attorney General of the Environment and Natural Resources Division of the Department of Justice. “The required payment will provide a means of studying polar water oil pollution and its impact on Antarctica’s fragile marine ecosystem.”

OSV owned and operated the R/V Laurence M. Gould (R/V Gould). The R/V Gould was a 2,966 gross ton American-flagged vessel that served as an ice-breaking research vessel for the National Science Foundation on research voyages to and from Antarctica. In its guilty plea earlier this year, OSV admitted that crew members knowingly discharged oily wastewater from the bilge tank of the R/V Gould overboard to the high seas, in violation of APPS. In doing so, they bypassed the ship’s oily-water separator, a pollution-control device. Regulations promulgated under APPS require that oily wastewater be discharged only after it has been sent through an oily water separator.

The case was investigated by the U.S. Coast Guard Criminal Investigative Service. The case is being prosecuted by Senior Trial Attorney Daniel Dooher of the Environment and Natural Resources Division of the Department of Justice and Assistant U.S. Attorney Dorothy Manning Taylor.

November 6, 2010

$2.1 million penalties in Gould pollution case

Galliano, La., headquartered Offshore Vessels LLC (OSV), formerly Edison Chouest Offshore Vessels LLC, was on Thursday sentenced in U.S. District Court in New Orleans to pay a criminal fine of $1,750,000 and remit a payment of $350,000 as community service to the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation. The community service funds are to be used to study polar water pollution and protection of vulnerable marine ecosystems in the Antarctic region. OSV also will serve a period of probation for three years, during which it will be required to operate under an Environmental Compliance Plan.

OSV pleaded guilty on July 22, 2010, to knowingly discharging waste oil from one of its vessels, in violation of the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships (APPS).

“The criminal fine in this case will serve as a strong deterrent to all vessel companies, American and foreign, against deliberately violating the laws enacted to protect oceans,” said Ignacia S. Moreno, Assistant Attorney General of the Environment and Natural Resources Division of the Department of Justice. “The required payment will provide a means of studying polar water oil pollution and its impact on Antarctica’s fragile marine ecosystem.”

OSV owned and operated the R/V Laurence M. Gould (R/V Gould). The R/V Gould was a 2,966 gross ton American-flagged vessel that served as an ice-breaking research vessel for the National Science Foundation on research voyages to and from Antarctica. In its guilty plea earlier this year, OSV admitted that crew members knowingly discharged oily wastewater from the bilge tank of the R/V Gould overboard to the high seas, in violation of APPS. In doing so, they bypassed the ship’s oily-water separator, a pollution-control device. Regulations promulgated under APPS require that oily wastewater be discharged only after it has been sent through an oily water separator.

The case was investigated by the U.S. Coast Guard Criminal Investigative Service. The case is being prosecuted by Senior Trial Attorney Daniel Dooher of the Environment and Natural Resources Division of the Department of Justice and Assistant U.S. Attorney Dorothy Manning Taylor.

November 6, 2010

Dubai Drydocks launches jack-up

It is the second of two Service Jack units that the yard is building for Lysaker, Norway, headquartered Master Marine AS.

On completion next year, the vessel will commence a contract to install 88 wind turbines at the U.K.’s Shearingham Shoal field for Scira, a joint Statoil/Statkraft venture. The first vessel, Haven, was delivered from the Graha shipyard in June. It is now in southern Norway completing preparations for a three-year assignment as an accommodation unit at the Ekofisk field in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea.

Designed by Global Maritime, and classified by ABS, Nora is DP2 equipped and can jack-up in 80 m water depth. It has an open deck area of 2,500 sq. m and has accommodations for up to 260 people. It will be equipped with two pedestal cranes, each of 750 t capacity.

The vessel has a hull length of 110 m and breadth of 50 m It has four 130 m long legs and the spud can area of each leg is 180 sq.m.

November 6, 2010

Dubai Drydocks launches jack-up

It is the second of two Service Jack units that the yard is building for Lysaker, Norway, headquartered Master Marine AS.

On completion next year, the vessel will commence a contract to install 88 wind turbines at the U.K.’s Shearingham Shoal field for Scira, a joint Statoil/Statkraft venture. The first vessel, Haven, was delivered from the Graha shipyard in June. It is now in southern Norway completing preparations for a three-year assignment as an accommodation unit at the Ekofisk field in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea.

Designed by Global Maritime, and classified by ABS, Nora is DP2 equipped and can jack-up in 80 m water depth. It has an open deck area of 2,500 sq. m and has accommodations for up to 260 people. It will be equipped with two pedestal cranes, each of 750 t capacity.

The vessel has a hull length of 110 m and breadth of 50 m It has four 130 m long legs and the spud can area of each leg is 180 sq.m.

November 6, 2010

Navy comments on new LCS acquisition plan

It is looking to order ten ships from Austal USA and ten from the Lockheed Martin, Marinette Marine team.

The Navy says that “effective competition between industry bidders to build the littoral combat ship (LCS)” led it to discuss the ten ships each plan with key Defense Committee members and their staff, as well as industry.

It says that “consideration of this option is separate from the ongoing LCS down select process, and if congressional approval for a dual block buy is not received, the Navy will proceed to down select in accordance with the terms of the current solicitation.”

It maintains that either a down select or a dual ship block buy approach will ensure the Navy procures affordably priced ships.

“This option is good for the taxpayers because it enables us to buy more ships for the same money and allows us to lock in a lower price for all 20 ships,” said Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus. “It’s good for the Navy because it gets us more ships faster and increases our flexibility, and it’s good for industry because it maintains and even expands jobs at two shipyards.”

Unlike the current solicitation, this option would require Congressional action to authorize two block buys by mid-December 2010.

“The Navy’s LCS acquisition strategy to down select to a single design resulted in a highly effective competition and an industry response that signals a significant potential savings in the LCS program,” said Sean Stackley, assistant secretary of the Navy for research, development and acquisition. “These competitive bids, coupled with the Navy’s desire to increase ship procurement rates to support operational requirements, create an opportunity to award each bidder a fixed-price, ten-ship block buy – a total of 20 ships from fiscal year 2010 to fiscal year 2015.”

The Navy says it remains committed to the LCS program and the requirement for 55 of these ships to provide combatant commanders with the capability to defeat anti-access threats in the littorals, including fast surface craft, quiet submarines and various types of mines.

Though Secretary Mabus’s proposal seems to have caught most observers by surprise, a recent Congressional Research Service report by veteran analyst Ronald O’Rourke, published October 14, had this to say:

One alternative [to the down select would be a strategy that would keep both LCS designs in production, at least for the time being. Such a strategy might involve the following:

  • the use of block-buy contracts with augmented EOQ authority, as under the Navy’s proposed acquisition strategy, to continue producing both LCS designs, so as to provide stability to shipyards and suppliers involved in producing both LCS designs;
  • the use of Profit Related to Offer (PRO) bidding between the builders of the two LCS designs, so as to generate competitive pressure between them and thereby restrain LCS production costs;18 and
  • designing a new LCS combat system that would have a high degree of commonality with one or more existing Navy surface ship combat systems and be provided as government-furnished equipment (GFE) for use on both LCS designs–an idea that was considered by the Navy at an earlier point in the program.

Supporters of an alternative like the one outlined above could argue that it would

  • provide stability to LCS shipyards and suppliers;
  • use competition to restrain LCS production costs;
  • permit the Navy to receive a full return on the investment the Navy made in creating both LCS designs;
  • reduce the life-cycle operation and support costs associated with building two LCS designs by equipping all LCSs with a common combat system;
  • allow the Navy to design an LCS combat system that is, from the outset, highly common with one or more of the Navy’s existing surface ship combat systems;
  • achieve a maximum LCS procurement rate of four ships per year starting in FY2011 (two years earlier than under the Navy’s proposal), thus permitting more LCSs to enter service with the Navy sooner;
  • build both LCS designs in substantial numbers, thereby avoiding a situation of having a small number of orphan LCS ships that could have potentially high operation and support costs;
  • preserve a potential to neck down to a single LCS design at some point in the future, while permitting the Navy in the meantime to more fully evaluate the operational characteristics of the two designs in real-world deployments; and
  • increase the potential for achieving foreign sales of LCSs (which can reduce production costs for LCSs made for the U.S. Navy) by offering potential foreign buyers two LCS designs with active production lines.

Maybe the Secretary of the Navy read Ronald O’Rourke’s report. Maybe Mr. O’Rourke is a seer.

 

Nov 5, 2010

Navy comments on new LCS acquisition plan

It is looking to order ten ships from Austal USA and ten from the Lockheed Martin, Marinette Marine team.

The Navy says that “effective competition between industry bidders to build the littoral combat ship (LCS)” led it to discuss the ten ships each plan with key Defense Committee members and their staff, as well as industry.

It says that “consideration of this option is separate from the ongoing LCS down select process, and if congressional approval for a dual block buy is not received, the Navy will proceed to down select in accordance with the terms of the current solicitation.”

It maintains that either a down select or a dual ship block buy approach will ensure the Navy procures affordably priced ships.

“This option is good for the taxpayers because it enables us to buy more ships for the same money and allows us to lock in a lower price for all 20 ships,” said Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus. “It’s good for the Navy because it gets us more ships faster and increases our flexibility, and it’s good for industry because it maintains and even expands jobs at two shipyards.”

Unlike the current solicitation, this option would require Congressional action to authorize two block buys by mid-December 2010.

“The Navy’s LCS acquisition strategy to down select to a single design resulted in a highly effective competition and an industry response that signals a significant potential savings in the LCS program,” said Sean Stackley, assistant secretary of the Navy for research, development and acquisition. “These competitive bids, coupled with the Navy’s desire to increase ship procurement rates to support operational requirements, create an opportunity to award each bidder a fixed-price, ten-ship block buy – a total of 20 ships from fiscal year 2010 to fiscal year 2015.”

The Navy says it remains committed to the LCS program and the requirement for 55 of these ships to provide combatant commanders with the capability to defeat anti-access threats in the littorals, including fast surface craft, quiet submarines and various types of mines.

Though Secretary Mabus’s proposal seems to have caught most observers by surprise, a recent Congressional Research Service report by veteran analyst Ronald O’Rourke, published October 14, had this to say:

One alternative [to the down select would be a strategy that would keep both LCS designs in production, at least for the time being. Such a strategy might involve the following:

  • the use of block-buy contracts with augmented EOQ authority, as under the Navy’s proposed acquisition strategy, to continue producing both LCS designs, so as to provide stability to shipyards and suppliers involved in producing both LCS designs;
  • the use of Profit Related to Offer (PRO) bidding between the builders of the two LCS designs, so as to generate competitive pressure between them and thereby restrain LCS production costs;18 and
  • designing a new LCS combat system that would have a high degree of commonality with one or more existing Navy surface ship combat systems and be provided as government-furnished equipment (GFE) for use on both LCS designs–an idea that was considered by the Navy at an earlier point in the program.

Supporters of an alternative like the one outlined above could argue that it would

  • provide stability to LCS shipyards and suppliers;
  • use competition to restrain LCS production costs;
  • permit the Navy to receive a full return on the investment the Navy made in creating both LCS designs;
  • reduce the life-cycle operation and support costs associated with building two LCS designs by equipping all LCSs with a common combat system;
  • allow the Navy to design an LCS combat system that is, from the outset, highly common with one or more of the Navy’s existing surface ship combat systems;
  • achieve a maximum LCS procurement rate of four ships per year starting in FY2011 (two years earlier than under the Navy’s proposal), thus permitting more LCSs to enter service with the Navy sooner;
  • build both LCS designs in substantial numbers, thereby avoiding a situation of having a small number of orphan LCS ships that could have potentially high operation and support costs;
  • preserve a potential to neck down to a single LCS design at some point in the future, while permitting the Navy in the meantime to more fully evaluate the operational characteristics of the two designs in real-world deployments; and
  • increase the potential for achieving foreign sales of LCSs (which can reduce production costs for LCSs made for the U.S. Navy) by offering potential foreign buyers two LCS designs with active production lines.

Maybe the Secretary of the Navy read Ronald O’Rourke’s report. Maybe Mr. O’Rourke is a seer.

 

Nov 5, 2010

Gene Taylor loses reelection bid

After 11 terms in the House, Rep. Gene Taylor has lost his bid to be re-elected to the Mississippi District 4 seat. His was one of a number of defeats that will reshape the membership of key Committees.

Republican Steven Palazzo defeated Taylor, a conservative Democrat, by 52 percent to 47 percent in unofficial results Tuesday night, the Sun Herald reported this morning.

Taylor lost his seat as part of a national trend that saw Democrats lose control of the House. His eleven terms brought with a seniority that placed him well to defend shipbuilding interests as Chairman of the key Seapower and Expeditionary Forces Subcommittee of the House Armed Services Committee. He is also Co-Chairman of the Congressional Shipbuilding Caucus.

Taylor is also a member of the Transportation and Infrastucture — another important panel that will look a lot different in the new Congress.

Not only will it be controlled by Republicans, but a lot of familiar Democratic faces will be missing – most noticeably Chairman James Oberstar (Minn.) who lost his re-election bid. Other Democrats on the committee who fell to Republican challengers include, besides Gene Taylor,Michael A. Arcuri (N.Y.), John A. Boccieri (Ohio), Christopher P. Carney (Pa.), John J. Hall (N.Y.), Phil Hare (Ill.), Steve Kagen (Wisc.), Betsy Markey (Colo.), Michael E. McMahon (N.Y.), Harry E. Mitchell (Ariz.), Solomon P. Ortiz (Texas), Thomas S.P. Perriello (Va.), Mark H. Schauer (Mich.), Harry Teague (N.M.) and Dina Titus (Nev.). Democrat Brian Baird of Washington did not run. His House seat was won by Republican Jaime Herrera.

The key Transportation subcommittee of interest to MarineLog readers is the Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation subcommittee. Rep. Oberstar was a member of the panel by virtue of his chairmanship of the parent committee. Other panel members who lost their reelection fight were its Vice Chairman, Michael McMahon and Gene Taylor and Steve Kagen,

Transportation Committee rank member John Mica (Fla.) won reelection as did Coast Guard subcommittee ranking member Frank LoBiondo (N.J.). While Rep. Mica is widely tipped to take over the Chairmanship of the Committee, Rep. LoBiondo will have enough seniority in the next Congress that he may well set his sights higher than the Coast Guard panel.

Elijah E. Cummings, Md, will presumably now move from the Chair of the Coast Guard panel to the ranking member slot. He leaves a legacy of giving the Coast Guard rather more oversight than some predessors did. It will be interesting to see if this “tough love” approach continues.

Nov. 5, 2010

Gene Taylor loses reelection bid

After 11 terms in the House, Rep. Gene Taylor has lost his bid to be re-elected to the Mississippi District 4 seat. His was one of a number of defeats that will reshape the membership of key Committees.

Republican Steven Palazzo defeated Taylor, a conservative Democrat, by 52 percent to 47 percent in unofficial results Tuesday night, the Sun Herald reported this morning.

Taylor lost his seat as part of a national trend that saw Democrats lose control of the House. His eleven terms brought with a seniority that placed him well to defend shipbuilding interests as Chairman of the key Seapower and Expeditionary Forces Subcommittee of the House Armed Services Committee. He is also Co-Chairman of the Congressional Shipbuilding Caucus.

Taylor is also a member of the Transportation and Infrastucture — another important panel that will look a lot different in the new Congress.

Not only will it be controlled by Republicans, but a lot of familiar Democratic faces will be missing – most noticeably Chairman James Oberstar (Minn.) who lost his re-election bid. Other Democrats on the committee who fell to Republican challengers include, besides Gene Taylor,Michael A. Arcuri (N.Y.), John A. Boccieri (Ohio), Christopher P. Carney (Pa.), John J. Hall (N.Y.), Phil Hare (Ill.), Steve Kagen (Wisc.), Betsy Markey (Colo.), Michael E. McMahon (N.Y.), Harry E. Mitchell (Ariz.), Solomon P. Ortiz (Texas), Thomas S.P. Perriello (Va.), Mark H. Schauer (Mich.), Harry Teague (N.M.) and Dina Titus (Nev.). Democrat Brian Baird of Washington did not run. His House seat was won by Republican Jaime Herrera.

The key Transportation subcommittee of interest to MarineLog readers is the Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation subcommittee. Rep. Oberstar was a member of the panel by virtue of his chairmanship of the parent committee. Other panel members who lost their reelection fight were its Vice Chairman, Michael McMahon and Gene Taylor and Steve Kagen,

Transportation Committee rank member John Mica (Fla.) won reelection as did Coast Guard subcommittee ranking member Frank LoBiondo (N.J.). While Rep. Mica is widely tipped to take over the Chairmanship of the Committee, Rep. LoBiondo will have enough seniority in the next Congress that he may well set his sights higher than the Coast Guard panel.

Elijah E. Cummings, Md, will presumably now move from the Chair of the Coast Guard panel to the ranking member slot. He leaves a legacy of giving the Coast Guard rather more oversight than some predessors did. It will be interesting to see if this “tough love” approach continues.

Nov. 5, 2010