Post by ferryfast admin on Jun 16, 2011 10:44:53 GMT -5
JHSV section damaged in shipyard fall
Published: Wednesday, June 15, 2011, 5:09 PM
Updated: Wednesday, June 15, 2011, 5:13 PM
Dan Murtaugh, Press-Register
blog.al.com/press-register-business/2011/06/jhsv_section_damaged_in_shipya.html
MOBILE, Ala. -- Austal USA officials are investigating a weekend incident in which a 50-ton section of a joint high-speed vessel dropped from an overhead lift at the company's Mobile River shipyard.
Company officials said no one was hurt during the incident, which occurred Saturday in the Module Manufacturing Facility.
They said they don't yet know the extent of the damage to the module or how the mishap will affect the schedule for construction of the Vigilant, the second JHSV the company is making for the U.S. Navy.
"If necessary, we can set aside the damaged portion for study and repair while we build a second, replacement module," Austal USA President Joe Rella said in a written statement released today.
Austal in 2008 won a $1.6 billion, 10-ship contract to build the lightly armed transport ships for the U.S. military. The first JHSV, the Spearhead, is near completion. It will be launched from the company's assembly bay into Mobile River in August and delivered to the Navy in December, Austal officials have said.
Unlike most shipbuilders, which construct vessels from the hull up, Austal builds different ship pieces, or modules, in the Module Manufacturing Facility, or MMF, then puts them together in its assembly bays like high-tech Lego toys.
Austal is making the Vigilant's 44 modules and storing them in the MMF until assembly bay space becomes available, said Craig Hooper, Austal's vice president for sales, marketing and external communications.
At about 11:30 a.m. Saturday, workers were using an overhead lift to move the module that holds the diesel generators that provide the ship's power when it fell about 3 feet and landed on the floor, Hooper said. The generators were inside the module and have been sent back to the manufacturer, Italy-based Fincantieri, to see if they need repair, he said.
A 50-ton object falling 3 feet has about the energy of a Ford F-150 truck traveling 45 miles per hour, according to Press-Register calculations.
Hooper said the Navy is involved in assessing damage and determining the cause of the incident.
Rella said he is leading every meeting dealing with the situation and plans to put processes in place to prevent similar problems.
"It is a safety issue, and my first priority is to keep every member of the Austal family safe," the Wednesday statement read.
In addition to the JHSV, Austal also has a $3.6 billion, 10-ship contract with the Navy to build littoral combat ships. The company is Mobile's largest industrial employer, with more than 2,100 workers. It plans to nearly double that headcount over the next few years as it delivers the Navy vessels.
Published: Wednesday, June 15, 2011, 5:09 PM
Updated: Wednesday, June 15, 2011, 5:13 PM
Dan Murtaugh, Press-Register
blog.al.com/press-register-business/2011/06/jhsv_section_damaged_in_shipya.html
MOBILE, Ala. -- Austal USA officials are investigating a weekend incident in which a 50-ton section of a joint high-speed vessel dropped from an overhead lift at the company's Mobile River shipyard.
Company officials said no one was hurt during the incident, which occurred Saturday in the Module Manufacturing Facility.
They said they don't yet know the extent of the damage to the module or how the mishap will affect the schedule for construction of the Vigilant, the second JHSV the company is making for the U.S. Navy.
"If necessary, we can set aside the damaged portion for study and repair while we build a second, replacement module," Austal USA President Joe Rella said in a written statement released today.
Austal in 2008 won a $1.6 billion, 10-ship contract to build the lightly armed transport ships for the U.S. military. The first JHSV, the Spearhead, is near completion. It will be launched from the company's assembly bay into Mobile River in August and delivered to the Navy in December, Austal officials have said.
Unlike most shipbuilders, which construct vessels from the hull up, Austal builds different ship pieces, or modules, in the Module Manufacturing Facility, or MMF, then puts them together in its assembly bays like high-tech Lego toys.
Austal is making the Vigilant's 44 modules and storing them in the MMF until assembly bay space becomes available, said Craig Hooper, Austal's vice president for sales, marketing and external communications.
At about 11:30 a.m. Saturday, workers were using an overhead lift to move the module that holds the diesel generators that provide the ship's power when it fell about 3 feet and landed on the floor, Hooper said. The generators were inside the module and have been sent back to the manufacturer, Italy-based Fincantieri, to see if they need repair, he said.
A 50-ton object falling 3 feet has about the energy of a Ford F-150 truck traveling 45 miles per hour, according to Press-Register calculations.
Hooper said the Navy is involved in assessing damage and determining the cause of the incident.
Rella said he is leading every meeting dealing with the situation and plans to put processes in place to prevent similar problems.
"It is a safety issue, and my first priority is to keep every member of the Austal family safe," the Wednesday statement read.
In addition to the JHSV, Austal also has a $3.6 billion, 10-ship contract with the Navy to build littoral combat ships. The company is Mobile's largest industrial employer, with more than 2,100 workers. It plans to nearly double that headcount over the next few years as it delivers the Navy vessels.