NEWS
Austal Occupies New Panel Line Shop in Mobile
On June 28, 2007, Austal USA received its Certificate of Occupancy from the City of Mobile for the newest addition to the shipbuilder's Mobile, Alabama facility. The Panel Line Shop is located on the north side of Assembly Bay 1 and opens up directly into the assembly bay to allow for ease of transporting the panels from the shop onto the production floor. The ground floor of the building, where the panels are assembled, is 200 ft. long by 45 ft. wide totaling over 9,000 sq. ft. The second level will house offices and meeting/training rooms. The Panel Line Shop is an addition to the building where the two U.S. Navy Littoral Combat Ships (LCS) are under construction. This news follows Austal's announcement earlier this month that it was celebrating the employment of its 1,000th employee. In addition to the Panel Line Shop, Austal is also in the process of constructing an addition to its southern-most assembly bay, where the second Hawaii Superferry vessel is under construction, to include a Router/Fitout Shop to be completed in December 2007. This building will house a recently purchased highspeed router cutter which is designed specifically to support aluminum ship construction. The equipment is operated with data from numerical cutting files of the required nested parts and enables the minimization of waste and the efficient recovery of scrap material. This router technology has been developed specifically for aluminum plate material and delivers to the production team dimensionally precise parts with machine-cut edges. This dimensional accuracy in conjunction with the detailed pen marking of each cut part, removes the need for large lofting boards to fit the cut parts together. of Fourchon, the tugs lost control of the rig. The 78 struck the Bollinger Dock, then bounced off of the Dock and hit the Dolphin 109. The78 then struck the Crosby Viking puncturing a hole in the vessel spilling approximately 4,500 gallons of fuel into the waterway. After the The 78 was secured, Bollinger asked Capt. Hendrix to shift the Harvey Discovery. While shifting the Discovery, Capt. Hendrix witnessed the Crosby Viking with an oil spill boom around the tug and the The 78, as a Vacuum Truck removed remaining fuel from the vessel. Captain Hendrix onboard the Harvey Discovery said that the USCG was boarding all vessels that night in an effort to find where the oil slick came from. As of that time, the spill had not been reported to the USCG by Crosby Tugs.
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Vessel Witnesses Accident and Spill
On June 18, Harvey Discovery and Harvey Explorer were requested by Port of Fourchon Harbor Police to clear the docks around Bollinger Fourchon Shipyard prior to the arrival of the Todco Submersible Rig The78. The Nabors Cantilever Jack up Rig Dolphin 109 was already in the Bollinger Yard with space cleared for the arrival of the Todco Submersible Rig The 78. The Todco Submersible Rig The 78 arrived in the channel under tow by two Crosby Tugs and with a third Crosby Tug waiting at the Bollinger Yard. As the Crosby tugs made the final approach with the Todco Submersible Rig The 78 at Port
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Why do you need a dependable communication system? First and foremost � safety. Be forewarned of trouble up ahead � stay in touch with your partner � keep in contact with your team. No matter what the reason communication is crucial at all times. The David Clark Company is a company known for their marine communication products. From the Series 9500 Marine Intercom System to the SOLO Dual-Radio Headset Station we have the system you depend upon. For more information about the Series 9500 Marine Intercom System or the SOLO Dual-Radio Headset Station, contact David Clark Company Incorporated, 360 Franklin Street, Box 15054, Worcester, MA 01515-0054 USA. By phone: 800-298-6235, E mail: sales@davidclark.com or visit www.davidclark.com/marine.
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A N EW WAVE I N COM M U N ICATION
August 2007 � MarineNews � 13