FIRST CHANCE

Lincoln Leaves San Diego, Begins TSTA

By Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class James R. Evans, USS Abraham Lincoln Public Affairs USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) wrapped up two weeks of training and certification with a scheduled port visit to Naval Air Station North Island July 22-24. Lincoln’s crew enjoyed two full days of liberty in the San Diego area while the ship took on personnel and equipment from Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 2 in preparation for the next phase of operations. Prior to the visit, Lincoln spent its first two weeks underway since completing sea trials and a nine-month Dry-dock Planned Incremental Availability at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Bremerton, Wash. During the time underway, Lincoln completed carrier qualifications for the ship’s flight deck, including certification of its Precision Approach Landing System and Carrier Air Traffic Control, and performed carrier qualifications for four west coast Fleet Replacement Squadrons (FRS), according to Lincoln’s operations officer, Cmdr. Paul Mackley. “We spent the first two weeks out to sea getting our basic qualifications so that we could move on to the next phase of training,” Mackley said. “We met all of our objectives and got good reviews from COMNAVAIR (Commander, Naval Air Forces) and AIRPAC (Air Forces Pacific). In all, we did 275 arrested landings for our own (flight deck) certification and another 652 for FRS carrier qualification.”

Potential Tognum Apprentices Get to the Show Workbench

At the 2013 IBO exhibition, Tognum, & subsidiary MTU Friedrichshafen present glimpse of technical training possibilities to young visitors. MTU Friedrichshafen will be giving visitors a glimpse of the wide range of vocational training the company has on offer. In Hall A3, Stand 300, trainees will be presenting the opportunities available at entry level at Tognum – from mechatronics to marketing and from apprenticeships to courses of dual university and practical study.

China Shipbuilding Industry on Downward Slide

China’s first half 2012 shipyard figures make grim reading & the national shipbuilding association warns little chance of help from Beijing. In the first half, newly received order volume in China were 10.74m tons, sharply down 50.3% year-on-year. Till the end of June 2012, orders on hand stood at 125.87m tons, a decrease of 30.7% year-on year. The equipment division of the Ministry of Industry and Information estimated many yards may will run out of work during the second half

Disney Cruise Ship to Get Marvel Makeover

Disney Cruise Line's first ship, 'Disney Magic', is due to be refitted & modernised during her Fall 2013 drydocking in Spain. Included in fairly extensive renovations and interior additions will be the creation of an area that  gives a chance for young 'recruits' to unleash their inner super heroes at Marvel’s Avengers Academy! This is the first time Super Heroes from the Marvel Universe have been introduced on a Disney Cruise Line ship.

Potential Bidders Eye Waterway Contracts

State and federal officials held a meeting at the Harrison County Courthouse on March 7 for potential contractors who will bid to clean up inland channels and waterways in the three coastal counties. An overflow crowd of 150 demolition and salvage professionals packed a courtroom to learn from the U.S. Coast Guard and Mississippi's Department of Marine Resources the work they will have to do to get the contracts. The federal government has issued a solicitation at www.fedbizopps

International-Marine.com Goes Live

International-marine.com announced its new website which offers new features and more relevant content as well as a chance to win an iPod. International-marine.com has improved site navigation and enhanced its product search facilities to include an interactive vessel area search. The new Support and advice section is a one stop shop for technical information. (www.international-marine.com)

Hellespont Alhambra to Deliver Cargo at Rotterdam

Hellespont Alhambra, the first of the series of four new ultra-high specification double hull ulccs now being delivered to Piraeus-based Hellespont Group, will deliver a full cargo of Middle East crude to Rotterdam at the beginning of February, following a swift voyage from the Middle East Gulf to Europe via the Suez Canal. Alex Papachristidis-Bove, president and co-chartering manager of Seatramp Tankers, Hellespont's commercial management, says, "It's exciting to come up

NPA Assisting Stranded Container Vessel

National Ports Authority (NPA) is monitoring a salvage operation that is underway to pull the Sealand Express, a container vessel, off the Dolphin Beach near Milnerton. The container vessel was driven ashore in high winds and heavy sea conditions. Captain Edward Bremner, spokesperson for NPA at the Port of Cape Town, said NPA had assisted in an earlier attempt to tow the ship off the beach, but it had been unsuccessful.

Historic Reunion

The USS LST 325 came into Boston Harbor today escorted by two Coast Guard 25-foot defender class boats into Charleston Navy Yard for the 60th Annual WWII Commeration Ceremony held June 18. The ship will be in Boston giving WWII vets the chance to reunite with thier long time shipmates and be honored for their courage and patronage. The LST 325 or landing ship tank took part in the invasion at D-DAY in Normandy carrying supplys, tanks and the wounded

NASSCO Delivers Final Tanker to BP Shipping

General Dynamics NASSCO, a wholly owned subsidiary of General Dynamics, delivered a fourth and final double-hulled oil tanker, the Alaskan Legend, to BP Shipping Ltd. The Alaskan Legend will depart San Diego on August 21, to join its NASSCO-built sister ships already in service: the Alaskan Frontier, Alaskan Explorer and Alaskan Navigator. The ship is capable of carrying up to 1.3 million barrels of crude oil and will operate between Alaska and western U.S. ports