Report Dallas Dry Docking Went Badly

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Tim Colton’s Maritime Memos is reporting there was a significant problem in the dry docking of the Dallas.

December 2, 2010: “International Ship Repair and Marine Services, LLC, had an accident on Monday night, when it’s Dock#6 apparently broke its back while docking USCGC Dallas, (WHEC 716). No announcements of any kind from anybody. I guess nobody needs to know.”

December 10, 2010: “Reports from people who were there indicate that Dallas was positioned with its stern hanging over the end of the dock, but its forward end was not in contact with the first 14 keel blocks. There’s a lot more besides this but it’s not needed here. This appears to have been a major screw-up and they are lucky nobody was hurt and the cutter was not badly damaged.”

Anyone know first hand what condition the ship is in?

Russian SAR in Trouble?

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The US Coast Guard apparently isn’t the only SAR organization whose ships have been run down. Sounds like the Russians may be considering a reorganization.

Seventy per cent of Russian Navy’s search-and-rescue vessels are in need of repair, said Vice Premier Sergei Ivanov.

“‘Vessels of different search-and-rescue (SR) services are in critical condition; lifetime of 80 per cent SR ships have been expired, seventy per cent of them need either yard repair or modernization’, said Ivanov appearing at the session of maritime committee at Russian government.

“According to him, there are still segmented “departmental” approaches in the area of search-and-rescue at sea which lead to duplication of functions, scattering of funds, and dilution of responsibility.”

Navy Awards Contracts for 20 Littoral Combat Ships

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T he Navy has awarded two contracts for construction of up to 20 Littoral Combat Ships at an average cost of approximately $440M each. In something of a surprise, the trimaran Austal design came in slightly below the Lockheed Martin offer.

“Lockheed Martin Corp., Baltimore, Md., is being awarded a fixed-price-incentive contract for the fiscal 2010-2015 block buy of Flight 0+ Littoral Combat Ships (LCS).  The fiscal 2010 LCS Flight 0+ ship award amount is $436,852,639.  There are additional line items totaling $54,742,639 for technical data package, core class services, provisioned items orders, ordering, a not-to-exceed line item for non-recurring engineering, and data items.  The total amount of the contract is $491,595,278.  The contract includes line items for nine additional ships and options for post delivery support, additional crew and shore support, special studies, class services, class standard equipment support, economic order quantity equipment, selected ship systems equipment for a second source and selected ship system integration and test for a second source which, if authorized/exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract to $4,570,604,367.  The cumulative value excluding any option items related to the second source is $4,069,913,166.  Work will be performed in Marinette, Wis. (56 percent); Walpole, Mass. (14 percent); Washington, D.C. (12 percent); Oldsmar, Fla. (4 percent); Beloit, Wis. (3 percent); Moorestown, N.J. (2 percent); Minneapolis, Minn. (2 percent); and various locations of less than one percent, each totaling seven percent.  Work is expected to be complete by August 2015.  Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year, except for fiscal 2010 RDT&E.  This contract was competitively procured via the Federal Business Opportunities website with two offers received.  The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity (N00024-11-C-2300).

“Austal USA, LLC, Mobile, Ala., is being awarded a fixed-price-incentive contract for the fiscal 2010-2015 block buy of Flight 0+ Littoral Combat Ships (LCS).  The fiscal 2010 LCS Flight 0+ ship award amount is $432,069,883.  There are additional line items totaling $33,398,998 for technical data package, core class services, provisioned items orders, ordering, a not-to-exceed line item for non-recurring engineering, and data items.  The total amount of the contract is $465,468,881.  The contract includes line items for nine additional ships and options for post delivery support, additional crew and shore support, special studies, class services, class standard equipment support, economic order quantity equipment, selected ship systems equipment for a second source and selected ship system integration and test for a second source which, if authorized/exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract to $4,386,301,775.  The cumulative value excluding any option items related to the second source is $3,785,807,006.  Work will be performed in Mobile, Ala. (50 percent); Pittsfield, Mass. (17 percent); Cincinnati, Ohio (3 percent); Baltimore, Md. (2 percent); Burlington, Vt. (2 percent); New Orleans, La. (2 percent); and various locations of less than two percent each totaling 24 percent.  Work is expected to be complete by June 2015.  Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year, except fiscal 2010 RDT&E. This contract was competitively procured via the Federal Business Opportunities website with two offers received.  The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity (N00024-11-C-2301).”

There is a good discussion of the implications here.

Coast Guard LEDETS and possibly Airborne Use of Force assets can expect to see a lot of these ships in the future for drug enforcement, counter-piracy, and partnership type missions.

There seems to be some surprise that they are getting a 3,000 ton ship for $440M (even though the rest of the world seems to do it for far less), but that doesn’t compare that well against the latest NSC contract for a 50% larger ship that cost less than 10% more. If we can maintain the same price per ton, approx. 2500 ton OPCs should cost about $270M. Perhaps if we could get a multi-year contract, they could be even less.

Integration in World War II

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Monday I found this on my facebook:

“On 27 Dec 1990, the first female commanding officer of a U.S. Navy vessel, Lcdr Darlene Iskra reported for duty on board USS Opportune (ARS-41) at Naples, Italy, serving until 1993. After retiring in 2000 and completing a Ph.D seven years later, Darlene Iskra is now a professor and an author of numerous publications about Women in the Armed Forces.”

I couldn’t help but comment, “In April 1979, LTJG Beverly Kelley became the first woman to command a Coast Guard cutter, the USCGC Cape Newhagen.”

and referenced this: http://www.womensmemorial.org/H&C/History/kelley_bucci.html

The link above had a throw away line, “Just as had been the case when the Coast Guard set up its first racially integrated ships’ companies during World War II, the “mixed crews” quietly settled into a working routine and went about their business with little commotion.”

This was the first I had heard of truly racially integrated ship in WWII. The Navy had none. They did man a destroyer escort and a sub-chaser with all black enlisted and all white officers, adding a few black officers later.

“…in early 1944 the Bureau of Naval Personnel assigned 196 black enlisted men and 44 white officers and petty officers to the USS Mason, a newly commissioned destroyer escort, with the understanding that all enlisted billets would be filled by Negroes as soon as those qualified to fill them had been trained. It also assigned 53 black rated seamen and 14 white officers and noncommissioned officers to a patrol craft, the PC 1264. Both ships eventually replaced their white petty officers and some of their officers with Negroes. Among the latter was Ens. Samuel Gravely, who was to become the Navy’s first black admiral.”

Near the end of the war they did add a token number of African-Americans to some auxiliaries in rating other than messmen but it was a long way from full integration.

The Coast Guard apparently handled it much differently. And as is frequently the case one man made all the difference. Enter Carlton Skinner, USCGR and the SEA CLOUD.

The USS Sea Cloud, CG

From December 1943 until she was decommissioned in November 1944, without fanfare or publicity, she functioned as a fully integrated ship with all ranks and ratings open to African Americans. When she was decommissioned Skinner went on to captain a Coast Guard manned destroyer escort which was also integrated.

It had been Skinner’s idea, not as a means of redressing social ills, but simply with the objective of making the best use of manpower possible. He formed the idea while serving as XO on the NORTHLAND (including the period when she captured a German weather trawler) influenced by the performance of a messman who wanted to be a motor-machinist’s mate, later CWO Oliver T. Henry, USCG.

“The proposal had to be and was based solely on military and naval effectiveness.  This was because, first, that was the origin of the idea; second, because I was sure that it was the only legitimate basis for considering a plan for racial integration of the armed forces during wartime.”

The Coast Guard experience may have influenced the Navy as well.

“I had hoped it would be copied.  To the best of my knowledge it was not copied, as such.  However, in February of 1945, the Navy issued revised regulations permitting up to 10 per cent of general ratings in non-combat naval ships to be Negroes.  I think my experiment was helpful in producing this change.  I had worked before the war with Eugene Duffield who was a wartime assistant to Secretary of the Navy [James V.] Forrestal.  On a trip through Washington in the winter of 1944, after the Sea Cloud was decommissioned, I visited Duffield and told him the whole story, how it started, how it worked and my convictions on the military necessity of integration aboard ship to get the maximum use of manpower skills in the population.  Duffield later sent me a copy of the revised Navy procedure on this.”

A final note, the Navy has decided to allow female officers on selected submarines.

All in a Day’s Work

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(This piece as original published was incorrect in that the tow referred to, occurred a year earlier than reported, sorry for the misrepresentation, but Escanaba still has a story to tell. They were involved in a different tow a week before the repatriation)

From a press release:

“Today the crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Escanaba repatriated 80 Haitian migrants to Cap Haitien, Haiti.

“The Haitian migrants were rescued from their overloaded and unstable 40-foot wooden sailing
vessel approximately four miles south of Matthewtown, Bahamas, Sunday, after being located
by a Coast Guard Air Station Detroit, Mich., MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew deployed to
Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

“After a request for assistance under a bilateral agreement with the Government of the
Commonwealth of the Bahamas, the crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Escanaba arrived on
scene, provided life jackets to the 80 Haitian migrants and, with the assistance of Royal
Bahamas Defense Force (RBDF) personnel, safely embarked them on the cutter.

“Once aboard Coast Guard cutters, all migrants are provided with food, water, shelter and basic
medical attention.

“The RBDF (Royal Bahamian Defense Force) vessel HMBS Nortec destroyed the wooden sailing vessel as a danger to navigation.”

If We Needed Non-Combatant Evac of Korea?

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An article in the Atlantic raises the possibility of a sudden requirement to evacuate American citizens (by one count 140,000) and other non-combatants, in case the Korean war suddenly turns hot. The authors go so far as to suggest China might have a role.

At the moment this seems unlikely, but things could change fast

Certainly, if it happens, whatever is available will be inadequate and the Coast Guard might have a role to play, both in providing assets (both ships and aircraft) and exploiting its liaison with counterpart organizations in Asia (even the Russians might help).

Something that might be worth thinking about.

Going Green, Navy, Marines, and Yes the Coast Guard Too

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US Naval Institute featured a column from the New York Times that talked about the Navy and Marine Corp going green for reasons any war fighter can understand, including trimming back on a vulnerable logistics tail.

The Coast Guard is also seems to be moving in the same direction. The description of the OPC includes a link to a 16 page (pdf) presentation (powerpoint?) on how the service would like to apply  “green” technologies and concepts to the Offshore Patrol Cutter (OPC).

“Trade Studies and White Papers developed the following areas of
interest for OPC:

“Hull design-Requires early/upfront considerations

  • Fuel Use and Fuel Storage (carbon footprint)
  • Noise (along with prop)

“Outfitting –Modification possible throughout lifecycle

  • Marine Sanitation System
  • Solid Waste Treatment
  • Marine Diesel Engines
  • Oily Water Separators

“Consumables –Provides greatest number of opportunities

  • Lighting
  • Batteries
  • Hull Coatings
  • Fluids and Lubricant”

They might be considered under “fuel and Lubricants,” but bio-fuels weren’t called out specifically. The emphasis seemed to be on controlling emissions and effluents rather than “sustainability,” but if the Navy is going to Bio-fuels, you know we will need at least the capability as well.

The control of engine and prop noise might have a side benefit if these ships ever need to tow a passive towed array sonar.

More on New Chinese WHEC

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Some new information and an artist rendering of a 128.6 m (424 ft), 5,418 ton, 20.4 knot cutter to be delivered to the Maritime Safety Administration (MSA) in May of 2012. (Most of the recent construction has been for the Chinese Maritime Surveillance (CMS).)

The post also includes a link to an August 2010 post that explains the five different agencies that perform Chinese maritime law enforcement.

Virtual Tour Two New French Naval Vessels

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They are not as well done as the virtual tour of the National Security Cutter Bertholf we found earlier but you might find them interesting.

The two ships are FS Mistral, a 21,300 ton amphibious assault ship (LPH), and FS Forbin, a 7,050 ton AAW missile frigate. The Mistral class have gained some ill fame lately because the Russians are buying four of them, two to be built in France and two to be built in Russia with French help and technology transfer.

If you haven’t seen it there is also a small virtual tour of the Great Lakes icebreaker Mackinaw.