The Navy last month awarded Austal USA a firm-fixed-price contract for $33.7 million, the last of six contracts for infrastructure improvements to Gulf Coast shipyards in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
Additionally the Navy awarded Seeman Composites, Inc., Gulfport, Miss., a similar contract for $3.2 million on Dec. 21.
Austal’s contract is for construction of a Modular Manufacturing Facility at Austal USA’s Mobile, Ala., shipyard.
Work will be performed in Mobile and is expected to be completed by April 2009, the Navy said.
The purpose of the funds are to expedite recovery of shipbuilding capability in areas affected by Hurricane Katrina by repairing and/or replacing shipbuilding facilities to make lasting improvement in shipyard facilities that would result in measurable cost reductions in current and future Navy shipbuilding contracts, and to improve the ability of shipbuilding facilities on the Gulf Coast to withstand damage from potential hurricanes or other natural disasters, according to the Navy.
In July 2007, Northrop Grumman [NOC] Ship Systems (NGSS) received a $98.6 million firm-fixed-price contract for infrastructure improvements to the company’s Pascagoula and Gulfport, Miss., shipyards.
Besides Austal USA, Seeman Composites,and NGSS, the Navy awarded infrastructure improvement contracts to:
- Textron Marine and Land Systems [TXT], New Orleans, La., in the amount of $3.4 million on Sept. 27;
- Atlantic Marine, Mobile, Ala., in the amount of $2.9 million, on July 26;
- Swiftships, Morgan City, La., $2 million, July 26.
“Because only contracts over $5.5 million are publicly announced, the awards for Seemann Composites, Textron, Atlantic Marine and Swiftships were not published on DefenseLink,” according to the Navy.
The Navy entered into negotiations with the six shipyards in early 2007.
In mid November ’06, the Navy received 18 proposals from seven shipyards. Allison Stiller, deputy assistant secretary of the Navy, Research Development and Acquisition, put together a panel of experts to review all of the proposals, according to the Navy. The panel membership included officials from Naval Sea Systems Command, Naval Facilities Engineering Command, various program executive offices, the Navy secretariat and an adviser from the U.S. Coast Guard (Defense Daily, January 25).