Posted on 02/22/2006 11:23:59 PM PST by demlosers
June 24, 1997, ABU DHABI, U.A.E. -- Abu Dhabi Ship Building (ADSB) has completed repairs on the U.S. military transport ship USNS Gordon, its first contract for work on a U.S. Navy vessel since the shipyard was established approximately one year ago.
ADSB received the contract from Newport News Shipbuilding (NYSE: NNS), Newport News, Virginia, USA, a major shareholder in ADSB. The Gordon repair project involved completion of warranty work for the U.S. Military Sealift Command vessel during its recent visit to the Arabian Gulf.
The USNS Gordon recently underwent a major conversion by Newport News from a standard container ship to a sophisticated, roll-on roll-off vessel for use by the U.S. Military Sealift Command. The converted ship was delivered in August, 1996 at the Newport News facilities in the U.S. and is presently in the Gulf on its maiden voyage. Like any newly delivered vessel, a number of machinery and equipment items needed adjustment or maintenance after their initial operating period. Since Newport News personnel provide both the executive and technical management services for ADSB, the Abu Dhabi company was a logical choice to complete this warranty work.
ADSB completed the repairs while the ship was docked in Jebel Ali Port, about 50 miles north of Abu Dhabi. A team of ADSB specialists and supervisors was dispatched to Jebel Ali from the company’s Abu Dhabi location and worked for several weeks to complete the required work on the vessel.
"We believe the U.S. Navy personnel on the Gordon were well pleased with our work and we intend to pursue additional opportunities with this particular customer in the future," said Rocky Holliday, ADSB’s managing director.
The work involved a number of electrical, machinery and welding-related items discovered during the ship’s initial deployment. NNS sent a technical representative to the Jebel Ali Port where he stayed during the entire job to coordinate between the two companies and interface with the U.S. Navy customer. ADSB’s knowledge of U.S. Navy equipment and procedures greatly facilitated the work and reduced the expected repair time.
Besides the actual warranty work, ADSB also coordinated the receipt of materials provided by Newport News, provided access to the port, and supervised several subcontractors. ADSB was also able to procure additional required materials from its local vendor list. The ADSB team worked closely with the ship’s crew to provide maintenance services on a number of different systems, often while they were still operating, to avoid shutting down main electrical power and critical equipment.
ADSB began operations in mid-1996 after a very successful public stock offering in the United Arab Emirates. In July of last year, ADSB bought an existing, small shipyard just outside of Abu Dhabi. The company is currently building, refitting, and repairing vessels at this existing site while a new, much larger shipyard facility is being designed and constructed at a location nearby. Newport News currently has a team of 16 employees permanently located in Abu Dhabi providing both executive and technical management for the new company.
"This was ADSB’s first opportunity to provide support for U.S. Navy ships in the Gulf," said Holliday. "Now that the U.S. Navy has worked with us and seen what our local NNS personnel are able to do, I’m hopeful that ADSB will be able to provide repair and maintenance services for other U.S. Navy ships deployed in the region."
Newport News Shipbuilding is America's largest ship design and construction company. It has produced approximately 800 ships during its 111 years of operations - including Navy aircraft carriers, submarines, and cruisers. The company is currently building the nuclear-powered aircraft carriers Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) and Ronald Reagan (CVN 76) and has begun work in preparation for construction of the Navy's New Attack Submarine. It is also building nine Double Eagle product tankers. Its 1996 revenues totaled $1.87 billion, with earnings before interest and taxes of $140 million. The current backlog is approximately $3.3 billion. The workforce numbers 18,000, making it Virginia's largest private employer.
dickseski_jf@nns.com
LOL!
Is the commentary worth the price of admission?
I give you a standing OVATION, much applause, and a lot of credit!
Hear hear! Good news! :-)
Seconding what nopardons said.
I suppose this is now all A OK because well after all gee wiz I mean Clinton done it too? If Clinton set the yard deal up or allowed it that is more than enough reason to question the policy IMO. On many Navy ships all decks below the main deck are classified. But the article doesn't mention that little detail. The biggest question I have is why are we still using it? What was bad policy under Clinton is still bad policy under Bush. Bad policy is bad policy.
:-)
Having spent time onboard a ship having work done in the Dubai shipyards I can attest to the fact that the overwhelming majority of the workers are Filipino, Indian, and Pakistani and they do excellent work. The U.S. Navy has used Dubai, and now Abu Dhabi, shipyards for ship repairs since at least the 1980s with few problems.
UAE BUYS U.S. STAKE IN NAVAL CONTRACTOR Estimated time of article based on page info last modified Thursday, June 19, 2003 3:40:08 PM
ABU DHABI [MENL] -- The United Arab Emirates has bought a U.S. stake in the leading naval contractor in the Gulf Cooperation Council.
The Abu Dhabi government has bought the 30 percent stake held by Newport News Shipbuilding in the UAE's Abu Dhabi Ship Building, the largest naval manufacturer in Gulf Arab states. This raises Abu Dhabi's stake in the shipbuilder to 50 percent.
The UAE shipbuilder, traded on the Abu Dhabi Securities Market, is also owned by the state-owned UAE Offsets Group. The UAE government created the Offsets Group in 1991 to provide for offset agreements as part of any weapons purchases from abroad.
Abu Dhabi Ship Building has been designated prime contractor in several leading contracts to the UAE navy. This includes the Al Baynounah project, meant to supply six naval craft in a deal worth nearly $600 million.
Lowest bidder ping!
lol
L
L
Buy a cheap used copy and enjoy.
Under the current state of unease, the only failsafe means of guaranteeing homeland security is to build holding facilities in remote locations in Alaska, New Mexico, Idaho, Wyoming, Montana, Utah, North Dakota, and West Texas. All persons of Arab decent, along with any person with known ties to any Arab, should be held until such time that the Islamofascists no longer pose a threat. If we don't, they're going to get us. (/bigotry)
Wait, a second, you say we have some Muslims living here? Arabs too?
Well, I'll be.
We should not allow any country with Arabs and Muslims living in it to have anything to do with our ports. That'll teach 'em. /sarcasm
Okay while I'm not a big fan of Affleck, I did enjoy "Boiler Room." Ribisi and Diesel were great and Ben wasn't too bad, either.
Thanks for the recommendation. I've put it on my list.
Our national security is being sold down the river in the name of trade agreements and dolts who use the stock market reports as our nations guide to good government rather than the Constitution cheer it on. You want to find Chinese nationals working in the United States? Try Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Nothing there to see folks move along.
If our leaders in DC want to talk trade and national security in the same context they need to clean their acts up and stop encouraging the outsourcing of our nation.
I traveled to Vietnam on what must have been the original USNS Gordon. And now it's replacement has undergone a rebuild? -oh oh, another one of those "age markers".
UAE is a kingdom..........EVERTHING is owned by the king, thus, is owned by the govenment....including the shipyards, port business, local grocer, etc., etc...........
"Thirding" what nopardons said.
Lurker, I admire your courage and integrity.
BD476, thanks for pinging me to these threads. It's encouraging to be presented with facts rather than hysteria.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.