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SCA Weekly Report | June 15 - 19, 2020

Shipbuilders Council of America

20 F Street NW, Suite 500

Washington, DC 20001

 

 

SCA Weekly Report | June 15 - 19, 2020

 

A MESSAGE TO THE MEMBERSHIP

 

Terry O'Brien

Outgoing Chairman

Shipbuilders Council of America

I just wanted to take this opportunity to thank everyone for their support for the last two years. It was an honor and humbling experience to serve as the Chairman of the Shipbuilders Council of America.

 

There are many reasons for the success that we enjoy and why SCA is regarded as one of the pre-eminent Trade Associations in the US.

We are fortunate to have a Board of Directors who are proactive and passionate about the issues that we face. I want to recognize that willingness to work as a team and as individuals to get things done. Thank you for your mentorship, guidance and friendship.

 

We are blessed to have absolutely the best staff of any Trade Organization. Matt Paxton leads a great team that keeps us moving forward and continuously provides value to our members. Paula, Davis, Joe and Maggie – thanks for your efforts in making everything work. You are the reason this whole thing works.

 

Our members are the best – your support for the organization (especially during the Pandemic) is amazing and more importantly, continuing! We have made some significant impacts to the Shipbuilding Industrial Base because of your hard work and support. 

 

I am very pleased to see the new slate of SCA Leaders – they are the right people to take SCA into the future.

 

Ben Bordelon will be a great Chairman.

 

Look forward to seeing all of you when we can. Be safe!

 

Terry

 

ANNOUNCEMENTS

 

 

SCA Announces New Leadership

 

SCA Chair: Ben Bordelon

SCA Vice Chair: Brad Moyer

Secretary: Caitlin Sause

Treasurer: Tom Wetherald

 

Board of Directors:

Ben Bordelon – Bollinger Shipyards, LLC

Betsy Schmid – General Dynamics

Bill Crow – Virginia Ship Repair Association

Board Member To Be Named Later – VT Halter Marine

Brad Moyer – BAE Systems Ship Repair

Brian Cuccias – HII-Ingalls Shipbuilding

Brian D’Isernia – Eastern Shipbuilding

Bruce Rosenblatt – Bruce S. Rosenblatt & Associates, LLC

Caitlin Sause – SOMAR, Inc.

Chuck Goddard – FMG-Marinette Marine Co

Christopher Ouellette – GD Bath Iron Works

Dan Conrad – Conrad Industries

Dave Carver – GD NASSCO

D. Loy Stewart, Jr. – Deytens Shipyards, Inc.

Jennifer Boykin – HII-Newport News Shipbuilding

Jill Mackie – Vigor Industrial

Garrett Rice – Master Boat Builders

Gavin Higgins – Nichols Brothers Boat Builders

Mark Haller – Tri-Tec Manufacturing

Michael Stanton – BAE Systems Ship Repair

Mitch Waldman – Huntington Ingalls Industries

Rob Stuardi – American Equity Underwriters

Steinar Nerbovik – Philly Shipyard

Terry O’Brien – Austal USA

Thomas Godfrey – Colonna’s Shipyard

Tom Epley – MHI Ship Repair & Services, Inc.

 

New Members of the Industry Partners Committee:

Dave Majerowicz - Aerotek

Jon "JR" Rodgers - General Dynamics Mission Systems

Marc Gadbois - Tradesmen International

Mike Dunbar - Ryzhka International

Paul Roden - Fairbanks Morse

 

 

2020 SCA Virtual General Membership Meeting

 

Thank you again for joining us yesterday for the 2020 SCA Virtual General Membership Meeting. We had a great turnout from SCA members, and some great discussions with our guest speakers.

 

In the coming days we will upload the presentations and the recording of the webinar to the SCA website.

 

Thank you to our sponsors!

 

  • Tradesmen International
  • Bruce S. Rosenblatt & Associates, LLC
  • Tri-Tec Manufacturing
  • American Equity Underwriters, Inc.
  • Ameri-Force, Inc. 
  • Gibbs & Cox
  • Lake Shore Systems Inc.
  • MCG Workforce Solutions
  • Performance Contracting Inc.
  • Port of San Diego Ship Repair Association
  • Signal Administration
  • STI Marine Firestop

 

 

Special Announcement: Foreign Tech Reps

 

MARAD is conducting an informational survey to understand what facilities might need foreign tech reps to complete current projects. Please contact SCA if your company’s operations were disrupted because of COVID and you have not been able to source the required tech reps as needed.

 

 

Upcoming Events

 

Over the next couple of months, SCA is planning to hold targeted topic webinars on new legislation and developing issues for the shipyard industrial base. We encourage you to register for our upcoming events below:

 

 

CONGRESSIONAL UPDATE

 

House Appropriators Set Subcommittee Markup Dates

House appropriators will launch a marathon of subcommittee markups on fiscal 2021 spending bills on July 6, followed by full committee markups and consideration of subcommittee allocations on July 9, Chair Nita Lowey has told her colleagues. Bill texts will be released about 24 hours in advance of subcommittee markups. The schedule:

 

July 6

  • 4:00 p.m. — State-Foreign Operations
  • 6:00 p.m. — Agriculture-FDA
  • 8:00 p.m. — Military Construction-VA

 

July 7

  • 9:00 a.m. — Homeland Security
  • 11:00 a.m. — Interior-Environment
  • 1:00 p.m. — Legislative Branch
  • 3:00 p.m. — Energy-Water
  • 5:00 p.m. — Labor-HHS-Education

 

July 8

  • 9:00 a.m. — Commerce- Justice-Science
  • 11:00 a.m. — Transportation-HUD
  • 1:00 p.m. — Financial Services
  • 3:00 p.m. — Defense

 

“Full committee markups will begin on July 9, when we will consider 302(b) allocations, State and Foreign Operations, Agriculture, and Military Construction and Veterans Affairs bills,” Lowey said in a letter. “The full committee will report out the Energy and Water and Interior and Environment bills on July 10. The following week I expect markups to begin Monday morning and end with only one bill being considered on Thursday, so that members can depart Washington that afternoon or evening.“

The full House is expected to vote on spending bills during the last two weeks in July.

 

Senate NDAA Time Frame Slips as Senate Pivots to Police Reform Bill

The Senate’s fiscal 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) was expected to be the next major piece of legislation to come up for debate on the Senate floor but Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced on Wednesday the Senate will consider Sen. Tim Scott's (R-SC) policing bill next week. The Senate Armed Services Committee approved the defense policy legislation last week in a closed-door markup. Text of the defense legislation has not yet been filed.

 

USNI News: Lack of Future Fleet Plans, Public Strategy Hurting Navy’s Bottom Line in Upcoming Defense Bills  

Frustrations are mounting in Congress over the limited insight lawmakers and the public have into the Navy’s future fleet, and the service now faces fiscal consequences in upcoming defense bills. In the short term, the Navy hasn’t been able to deliver an approved 30-year shipbuilding plan or its new vision for its future fleet to Congress. The reports were held back due to a last-minute review from Pentagon leadership over cost concerns, leaving the Hill unable to conduct oversight into the Navy’s shipbuilding plans. Read more HERE. 

 

NAVY NEWS

 

USS Fitzgerald Leaves Ingalls Shipbuilding for New Homeport, 3 Years After Fatal Collision

Destroyer USS Fitzgerald (DDG-62) left the Ingalls Shipbuilding yard in Mississippi to return to the fleet this week, almost three years to the day after a collision with a merchant ship that killed seven sailors. The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer was transported on a heavy-lift ship to Ingalls Shipbuilding in January 2018 for repairs, following the June 17, 2017, collision. The ship was brought into the dry dock there for repairs until its undocking in April 2019, and pierside work continued until earlier this year.

 

PENTAGON UPDATE

 

DOD Watchdog to Audit Sole-Source Depot Maintenance Contracts  

The Defense Department inspector general intends to audit sole-source depot maintenance contracts performed at contractor facilities to determine whether the military has negotiated "fair and reasonable" prices. The audit was directed by the Fiscal Year 2020 National Defense Authorization Act. The Defense Department and Congress have sought to crack down on a variety of potential pricing abuses since a widely publicized controversy with TransDigm, a company that came under scrutiny last year when the IG found it made $16.1 million in excess profit for 46 parts sold to the Defense Logistics Agency and the Army for $26.2 million between 2015 and 2017.

 

 

REPORTS & STUDIES

 

 

JONES ACT NEWS

 

US Companies Plan Construction of Two SuperFeeder Offshore Wind Vessels

U.S. companies MiNO Marine and 2nd Wind Marine are planning to start building two offshore wind construction support vessels in early 2021. The Jones Act compliant vessels, called SuperFeeders, are DP2 purpose-built jack-ups that will transport wind turbine components from U.S. ports to installation vessels at offshore wind construction sites. The SuperFeeders will each be able to accommodate up to 60 people on board. 

 

IN THE NEWS

 

MARAD Announces $9.5 Million in Grants for America’s Marine Highway Program

Earlier this week, MARAD announced that it has awarded $9.5 million in grants to eight marine highways projects under the America’s Marine Highway Program. The funding supports the enhancement of navigable waterways and expands existing waterborne freight services in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, New York, New Jersey, Oregon, Tennessee, Washington and American Samoa. 

 

Great Lakes Shipping Companies Navigate Market Challenges Ahead

For U.S.-flag shipping on the Great Lakes, 2019 was a good year. Total cargos were 90 million net tons, up 7.5% over 2018 and 4.6% over the five-year average. 2020 looks to be very different from 2019. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, blast furnaces have been idled and heavy manufacturing throughout the Great Lakes and those facilities throughout the country reliant on steel from the integrated mills temporarily shuttered.

 

Norwegian Hopes to Cruise to Alaska in September

While Norwegian Cruise Line cancelled all August and most September departures, it held back on September cruises to Alaska, and hopes it could operate them. Norwegian has the only modern, large U.S.-flagged cruise ship in the world in the Pride of America. If the ship were to redeploy, new itineraries could include Alaska without Canada, or the U.S. East Coast, which would give Norwegian access to high yielding markets.

 

 

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Paula Zorensky on the SCA staff.