Enhydra Wins Accolades

By Karen Robes Meeks

All American Marine, Inc.’s 128-foot, 600-passenger boat Enhydra earned vessel of the year at the 2018 International WorkBoat Show.

The vessel was constructed for tour company Red and White Fleet at All American Marine’s new 58,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in downtown Bellingham, Wash. It launched at the Squalicum Harbor boat launch.

All American and BAE Systems teamed up to build the Enhydra, currently the biggest lithium-ion battery electric hybrid-powered vessel in North America constructed under USCG Subchapter K certification.

“We are proud to introduce such a large-capacity hybrid technology vessel and working with such great partners such as Red and White Fleet and BAE Systems to develop and build the boat of the future," All American Marine CEO Matt Mullett said. "All American is working to stay at the forefront of the decarbonization movement in the maritime industry, and the lithium-ion hybrid electric propulsion system on the Enhydra is a step in the right direction.”

All American Marine Wins Hybrid Vessel Contract

By Mark Edward Nero

Bellingham, Wash.-based All American Marine said Feb. 13 that it has inked a deal for the construction of a new hybrid electric passenger vessel to be delivered to Red and White Fleet, a San Francisco-based boat tour and sightseeing company.

The contract for the new 600-passenger aluminum monohull was signed during the recent annual Maritrends Conference put on by the Passenger Vessel Association.

“All American Marine is pleased to have been chosen to construct this innovative new vessel for Red & White Fleet and we are proud to offer a hybrid propulsion system that truly works with instant and tangible benefits,” AAM Vice President of Business Development Joe Hudspeth remarked.

The contract follows an earlier announcement made by the company regarding a construction agreement for a 500-passenger aluminum monohull tour boat for Argosy Cruises of Seattle. Both operators originally pursued construction contracts for steel monohulls, but AAM said it was successfully able to demonstrate considerable savings in construction and maintenance costs with an aluminum design, while ensuring delivery of a solid hull structure.

AAM, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary, is also in the process of moving into a brand new purpose-built ship building facility at Squalicum Harbor.

Argosy is expected to take delivery of their vessel in the late fall, while Red and White Fleet should receive their new craft in the late spring of 2018.

The vessels are being designed by naval architect, Nic de Waal, of Teknicraft Design in Auckland, New Zealand.

The new vessel for Red and White Fleet, to be christened Enhydra, will be the first aluminum hulled, Lithium-Ion battery-electric hybrid vessel built from the keel up under U.S. Coast Guard passenger vessel regulations, and the latest guidelines for structural fire protection.

The vessel will be 128 feet long with a moulded beam of 30 feet and is specifically designed for harbor tours of San Francisco Bay and the Golden Gate Bridge.

All American Marine partnered with BAE Systems to design and integrate the complete battery electric hybrid system. BAE Systems will supply its HybriDrive Propulsion System, including a generator, control system, and AC electric traction motor.

The generator will mount to a variable speed Cummins QSL9 410 mhp@2100 rpm diesel engine. The motor generator offers diesel-electric operation of the AC traction motor which is coupled directly to the propulsion shaft. The hybrid system will also utilize battery power from two 80 kWh Lithium-ion battery packs.

“We see the propulsion configuration on the Enhydra as phase one in our move toward the full electrification of our fleet,” Red and White Fleet’s Vice President of Operations, Joe Burgard, said. “Stay tuned for phase two.”

Massive Floating Dry Dock Arrives in San Diego

By Mark Edward Nero

On Dec. 8, BAE Systems received a new 950-foot-long, 55,000-long-ton floating dry dock at its San Diego shipyard. The dry dock, BAE says, is part of the company’s $100 million investment in the yard to service the anticipated increase of US Navy ships on the West Coast.

The new floating dry dock arrived at the company’s shipyard towed by the ocean-going and salvage tug POSH Terasea Eagle.

Over the next two months, the BAE Systems team says, it plans to complete final assembly, installation, testing, and certification of the dry dock, which is expected to be operational in early 2017. The first ship to be serviced in the dry dock will be the San Diego-homeported amphibious transport dock ship USS New Orleans.

“We have made the strategic investment to meet the ship repair needs of the Navy,” BAE Systems Ship Repair Vice President and General Manager Joe Campbell said in a statement. “With two large dry docks now in our shipyard, we’ll enhance the San Diego industrial base’s ability to repair warships in their homeport, providing the key maintenance and modernization work needed for the ships’ continued service to our nation and the stability for the ships’ crews.”

The new dry dock is 950 feet long, 205 feet wide and has a lift capacity of 55,000-long-ton ship weight, making it capable of accommodating amphibious assault ships, auxiliary ships, cruisers, destroyers, littoral combat ships, transport dock and dock landing ships, and select commercial vessels.

It uses all electric power and its environmental features include LED lighting throughout the structure; a non-toxic underwater hull and ballast tank coating; storm water recovery systems; closed-loop salt water fire protection and cooling systems; and air-cooled emergency backup generators.

BAE Systems Awarded $36 Million Ship Upgrade Contract

By Mark Edward Nero

BAE Systems has received a $36.7 million contract from the US Navy for the repair and maintenance of the amphibious transport dock ship USS New Orleans, which will be the first ship to be repaired in the company’s new drydock in San Diego. The contract includes options that, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value to $51.5 million.

BAE says it will begin work on the 684-foot-long ship in January 2017. Work to be performed includes structural and tank repairs, propulsion system repairs, and ventilation and auxiliary systems repairs, as well as preservation of the crew habitability systems and spaces.

The labor onboard the ship is expected to be completed in March 2018.

BAE Systems has purchased a 55,000-lifting-ton, 950-foot-long drydock for the San Diego shipyard, which will be operational in early 2017. The company already has a 26,000 lifting-ton drydock at the site. In addition to another drydock in the port, the combination of three drydocks will support the growth of ships in the San Diego port and help the Navy to maintain its operational requirements, while keeping ships in their homeport for extensive repairs.

The surface ship fleet in San Diego, excluding aircraft carriers, is expected to grow from the current 59 ships to 70 by 2020, as the Navy increases its focus on Asia-Pacific operations. BAE has said its $100 million investment in a new drydock and other capabilities will support the increased size of the fleet.

“We made the strategic investment to meet the ship repair needs of the Navy,” BAE Systems Ship Repair Vice President and General Manager Joe Campbell said. “Soon, with two large drydocks in our shipyard, we’ll enhance the San Diego industrial base’s ability to repair warships in their homeport, providing the key maintenance and modernization work needed for the ships’ continued service to our nation and the stability for the ships’ crews.”

BAE Signs 20-Year Ship Repair Deal

By Mark Edward Nero

The Port of San Francisco Port Commission and BAE Systems have agreed to a new 20-year lease agreement for maritime ship repair that both sides say is expected to sustain San Francisco’s long tradition of shipbuilding and repair.

BAE Systems San Francisco Ship Repair currently leases the port’s Pier 70 shipyard and two floating dry docks. At its March 24 meeting, the San Francisco Port Commission unanimously approved a new long-term lease with BAE that, among other things:

• Establishes a 20-year lease term beginning April 1, 2015, with two five-year extension options.

• Institutes a system of rent credits that will incentivize investments in the port-owned equipment and buildings, revitalize these assets, and eliminate or reduce port liability.

• Sets up a shared dredging fund between the port, BAE Systems, and the Army Corps of Engineers, that can deepen the publicly accessible channel at the entrance to the shipyard and lead the way for federal maintenance dredging in the future.

• Sets up an agreement between the port and BAE Systems for pursuing possible funding opportunities for the replacement of the port’s post-Panamax dry dock No. 2.

“We proudly continue one of San Francisco’s oldest maritime traditions, a tradition that has been creating and maintaining quality maritime jobs for more than a century,” Port of SF Executive Director Monique Moyer announced. “This agreement fortifies our alliance to sustain this industry for decades to come.”

The shipyard is located at Pier 70 at the foot of Potrero Hill. Ships have been built and repaired in and around the area for over 150 years.

BAE Systems Awarded $14 Million for Ferry Maintenance

By Mark Edward Nero

The San Diego branch of BAE Systems Ship Repair, has been awarded a $14 million modification to a previously awarded contract for USS Harpers Ferry fiscal year 2014 “phased maintenance availability.”

The 11.6-ton, 610-foot long USS Harpers Ferry was built by Avondale Shipyard, which is now part of the Northrup Grumman Corp. The vessel was commissioned in 1995 and has been homeported in San Diego since 2011.

According to the US Dept. of Defense, the "phased maintenance availability" includes the planning and execution of depot-level maintenance, alterations and modifications that will “update and improve the ship’s military and technical capabilities.”

The Southwest Regional Maintenance Center in San Diego is the contracting agency. The work, which will be performed in San Diego, is expected to be completed by November 2014.

Fiscal year 2014 operations and maintenance other procurement funding in the amount of $14,772,006 have been obligated for the contract, according to the DoD.

POSD Honors Tenants’ Environmental Achievements

By Mark Edward Nero

During its April 15 Board of Port Commissioners meeting, the Port of San Diego honored 78 of its tenant businesses for exemplary environmental achievements related to participation in the port’s Green Business Network.

The network is a voluntary program that encourages businesses to incorporate energy efficiency and sustainability into their daily operations. The program, which was implemented in 2010, is a partnership between the Port of San Diego and San Diego Gas & Electric. It offers free resources that help participating tenants reduce their consumption of water and energy, as well as reduce waste on tidelands.

“The success of our Green Business Network is documented in real results that represent significant energy savings and valuable rebates,” Board of Port Commissioners Chair Bob Nelson said.

Among the honorees during the Commission meeting was Continental Maritime, one of the port’s ship repair tenants. In 2013, Continental completed an assessment and upgrade to its exterior lighting. The business switched to LED bulbs, which helped it reduce energy use by 59 percent. It also saved 89,000 kilowatt hours and $19,000 in reduced energy costs.

Another ship repair tenant, BAE Systems, was recognized for achieving a three percent reduction in its energy use from the previous year with its “Clean, Lean and Green” environmental sustainability program. The business also recycles 100 percent of its office paper, metal and abrasive blasting material, according to the port.

In all, the port said, participating tenant businesses earned about $253,000 in energy and natural gas rebate incentives in 2013. They saved nearly 2.5 million kilowatt hours and more than 137,000 therms, the equivalent to powering 154 homes for a year.

NASSCO, San Diego Port Sign Clean-Up Accord

An agreement has been reached between shipbuilding and repair company NASSCO and the Port of San Diego regarding what could eventually become the largest-ever cleanup of toxins in San Diego Bay.

Under the agreement, which was reached Sept. 18, the port has agreed to pay an undisclosed share of the cleanup project’s estimated $75 million cost.

The area around the NASSCO and BAE Systems’ shipyards is expected to be the first – and largest – of several sites to be cleaned up over the next few years, according to the accord. In all, about 140,000 cubic yards of contaminated sediments is expected to be removed.

The San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board directed several parties to undertake the dredging project for what it refers to as the “Shipyard Sediment Site” in a March 2012 order. They include NASSCO, BAE Systems, the City of San Diego, Campbell Industries, San Diego Gas and Electric, the US Navy and the Port of San Diego. These parties, among others, have been involved in a federal court lawsuit over responsibility for the contamination at the site and the cost to clean it up.

The Port of San Diego has agreed to pay a share of the project costs to help move the project forward and resolve the port’s involvement in the litigation relating to the cleanup at the NASSCO site.

“The Port of San Diego takes its stewardship of San Diego Bay very seriously,” Port Chair Ann Moore said in a prepared statement regarding the matter. “This agreement with NASSCO represents the port’s long-standing commitment to a clean and healthy bay, and we are excited for the work to begin.”

The cleanup operation is expected be conducted from a barge; a clamshell bucket would be lowered from a crane into the bay where it will scoop up the sediments, which would be mixed with a cement mixture before being trucked to a landfill. The work won’t begin, however, until funding from other involved parties is secured.

“NASSCO is delighted that it has now reached an agreement in principle with the Port District that would bring this historic cleanup project one step closer to implementation,” NASSCO Communications Director Sarah Strang said.

NASSCO, which leases 126 waterfront acres from the Port of San Diego, has been building and repairing ships there for more than 50 years.