USS Milwaukee Broke Down and undTow

Engineering Marine Engineering
21

Speaking of lies, bullshit, and fleecing the public, todays Maritime Executive http://maritime-executive.com/article/gao-urges-us-littoral-combat-ship-delay has a good article on the LCS scam that in perfect world would start an investigation that ends up with some high placed criminals swinging in the town square. Unfortunately they will either get promoted or given an executive position with one of their co-conspirators.

Geez, I wish we could follow the old Russian and Chinese methods of dealing with corrupt industrialists, politicians, and admirals.

22

here is that article

GAO Urges U.S. Littoral Combat Ship Delay

By MarEx 2015-12-19 19:56:15

The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) issued a report calling for a delay to the funding of the nation’s 2016 Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) program on Friday after reviewing the vessels’ capabilities.

In the study, Littoral Combat Ship: Knowledge of Survivability and Lethality Capabilities Needed Prior to Making Major Funding Decisions, the GAO suggests Congress delay funding until the Navy submits a completed rough water trials report, an acquisition strategy and a backfit plan.

What the GAO Found

The lethality and survivability of the LCS is still largely unproven, six years after delivery of the lead ships. LCS was designed with reduced requirements compared to other surface combatants, and the Navy has since lowered several survivability and lethality requirements and removed several design features, making the ship both less survivable in its expected threat environments and less lethal than initially planned. The Navy is compensating for this by redefining how it plans to operate the ships.

In 2014, the Navy conducted its first operational test of an early increment of the surface warfare mission package on a Freedom variant LCS, demonstrating that LCS could meet an interim lethality requirement. The Navy declared LCS operationally effective. However, the Navy’s test report stated that the ship did not meet some key requirements.

Further, the Department of Defense’s Director of Operational Test and Evaluation has stated that there is insufficient data to provide statistical confidence that LCS can meet its lethality requirements in future testing or operations, and further testing is needed to demonstrate both variants can meet requirements in varied threat environments.

The Navy also has not yet demonstrated that LCS will achieve its survivability requirements, and does not plan to complete survivability assessments until 2018 after more than 24 ships are either in the fleet or under construction. The Navy has identified unknowns related to the use of aluminum and the hull of the Independence variant, and plans to conduct testing in these areas in 2015 and 2016. However, the Navy does not plan to fully determine how the Independence variant will react to an underwater explosion.

This variant also sustained some damage in a trial in rough sea conditions, but the Navy is still assessing the cause and severity of the damage, and GAO has not been provided with a copy of the test results. Results from air defense and cybersecurity testing also indicate concerns, but specific details are classified.

In February 2014 the former Secretary of Defense directed the Navy to assess options for a small surface combatant with more survivability and combat capability than LCS. The Navy conducted a study and recommended modifying the LCS to add additional survivability and lethality features. After approving the Navy’s recommendation, the former Secretary of Defense directed the Navy to submit a new acquisition strategy for a modified LCS for his approval. He also directed the Navy to assess the cost and feasibility of backfitting lethality and survivability enhancements on current LCS.

Nevertheless, the Navy has established a new frigate program office to manage this program, and the Navy has requested $1.4 billion for three LCS in the fiscal year 2016 President’s budget, even though it is clear that the current ships fall short of identified survivability and lethality needs. GAO has an ongoing review of the Navy’s small surface combatant study and future plans for the LCS program.

Sharp Words from Maybus

Last week, U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter ordered the U.S. Navy in a sharply worded memo to buy 12 fewer small littoral combat ships and more fighter jets, electronic warfare equipment and other weapons in the upcoming budget year instead.

If approved by Congress, the changes would have a huge impact on many big weapons makers, including Lockheed Martin Corp and Australia’s Austal Ltd, which would have to compete to build eight remaining LCS ships in fiscal 2019.

Carter told Navy Secretary Ray Mabus in the memo dated Tuesday the Navy’s proposed budget plan for fiscal 2017 was “unbalanced.”

The GAO report is available here.

it is more than clear that these vessels are GARBAGE! Why can this program not be killed and a new class of vessels be constructed instead? THIS IS FUCKING RIDICULOUS!

23

^^^ Probably due to the rich and powerful protecting each other. The LCS ship capabilities are being watered down to being accepted as just over-priced patrol boats. I can just imagine the back room deals and back-slapping in the upper offices. On a side note, I served on a 1950’s wood hulled minesweeper that was still performing its intended mission into the early '90’s. Interesting to note that Many of the replacement vessels have already been retired (MHCs).
The LCS module set up for multi-missions doesn’t sound like it will work without major changes but no active duty admiral who values his career will tell what he really thinks about this debacle or he will likely be out the door. The Navy will likely get ships they don’t want and the cycle continues.

24

The money would be better spent on these…

25

I sincerely hope you are right Fraq. I want to see pictures of Zumwalt punching into a big swell at full ahead. Should be interesting to hear about sea keeping ability.

26

The money would’ve been better used to build new updated Perry class FFGs or a navy version of the NSC

Also I’m surprised that MSC even managed to tow the Little Crappy Ship back to port. They managed to break the tow of the Del Monte in relatively calm waters off VA earlier this year.

28

Two words… Marinette Marine… Owned by our Italian friends They are building Half of them in Mobile,Ala. Lets see what happens with the ones built down south. Brown Party liquor rules!

29

[QUOTE=Rebel_Rider1969;175937]Two words… Marinette Marine… Owned by our Italian friends They are building Half of them in Mobile,Ala. Lets see what happens with the ones built down south. Brown Party liquor rules![/QUOTE]

actually both Marinette and Austal are both foreign owned so we have foreign corporations lobbying Congress for more of these worthless pieces of SHIT to be built at immense cost to all of us.

NO FOREIGN OWNED OR CONTROLLED CORPORATION SHOULD BE CONTRACTED WITH THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT NOR TO BE ABLE TO LOBBY CONGRESS!

31

Just like we could not allow the US auto industry, or banking, to go bankrupt and disappear, neither can we afford to allow the US shipbuilding industry to disappear.

I am very much in favor of foreign investment and using cutting edge foreign technology in US industry, but I’m not in favor of foreign control in essential US industries.

I’m not in favor of building bridges to nowhere, useless or unnecessary ships, or other wasteful Government spending, of which there is far too much.

32

Steel is down the &^*%(#)($) chinese are bringing over cheap steel again. It is cheap cause our 7/8 cables on our winches don’t last for $hit. It’s interesting because the cables are china made but the drums say made in the USA. They ship the drums in and repool the cables onto them. The reason I know this is the fedex decals are on the drums and a little nosing around shows the truth. Anyway I’m already off on “vacation” till march. Luckly I’m on a “river class” vessel not one of the mega ore ships so I’m safe® for now. Plenty of stone and sand and for a bit coal to haul.
Silver Bay one of the largest producers of tacinite (iron ore) layed off 540 people and shut the plant down about a month early. I don’t know all the details. Alot of the ships were put away early this year and some were never brought out. So we’re having a bit of a downturn as well.
I’ve seen more gulfies or guppys (as we call em) in the lakes but most can’t cut it and quit,get fired or just don’t come back and for the most part good riddance. Some were 200T captains,mates and over privilaged AB’s We used to only hire Limited and Unlimited now they are letting in the “special” AB’s. :wink:

Oh and BTW in the lakes we are not glorified deckhands…

Well that’s enough rattling on. Back to Brown Party Liquor Vacation!

33

“Gulfies” ? “Guppies” ?

Where have you been? They have recently been renamed "“GOMERS”.

34

[QUOTE=c.captain;175939]actually both Marinette and Austal are both foreign owned so we have foreign corporations lobbying Congress for more of these worthless pieces of SHIT to be built at immense cost to all of us.

NO FOREIGN OWNED OR CONTROLLED CORPORATION SHOULD BE CONTRACTED WITH THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT NOR TO BE ABLE TO LOBBY CONGRESS![/QUOTE]

Hoping this will be the Ant hill that will finally send you to a “special care facility”

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aker_Philadelphia_Shipyard <— look, a Norwegian billionaire making money on the Jones Act.

35

lol, I know. Not new news either.

36

Yes. Most of us are aware of that Kjell Rokke owns Aker Philladelphia Shipyard and that his son Kristen runs it. Amy Humphries CEO of Icicle Seafoods (and formerly from American Seafoods) (and formerly from a Saltchuk company (not TOTE)) is on the Aker Philly Shipyard board of directors. Some of us helped Kjell Inge make his initial fortune many years ago in the Bering Sea. It’s not news to us that he likes to wrap himself in American flag, name things that are really Norwegian “American” and do whatever he wants in America through Norwegian-American front-companies and front-men. (I would like to have the political campaign donations that Kjell Inge has made in America.) Certainly, c.captain has known this all too well for many many years.

37

In case anyone’s interested, the Milwaukee is still here in Little Creek, getting a steady stream of shipyard workers on/off every day. I’m ready for it to leave. It spoils my morning coffee-in-the-wheelhouse view.

38

[QUOTE=Kraken;175963]Hoping this will be the Ant hill that will finally send you to a “special care facility” [/QUOTE]

39

[QUOTE=tugsailor;175977]Yes. Most of us are aware of that Kjell Rokke owns Aker Philladelphia Shipyard and that his son Kristen runs it. Amy Humphries CEO of Icicle Seafoods (and formerly from American Seafoods) (and formerly from a Saltchuk company (not TOTE)) is on the Aker Philly Shipyard board of directors. Some of us helped Kjell Inge make his initial fortune many years ago in the Bering Sea. It’s not news to us that he likes to wrap himself in American flag, name things that are really Norwegian “American” and do whatever he wants in America through Norwegian-American front-companies and front-men. (I would like to have the political campaign donations that Kjell Inge has made in America.) Certainly, c.captain has known this all too well for many many years.[/QUOTE]

I do not doubt it :slight_smile: Just think it’s fun to torment c.captain.

Christian Røkke who is Executive Chairman of Aker Philadelphia, have American citizenship, so I think they are playing the long game.

40

[QUOTE=Kraken;176005]I do not doubt it :slight_smile: Just think it’s fun to torment c.captain.

Christian Røkke who is Executive Chairman of Aker Philadelphia, have American citizenship, so I think they are playing the long game.[/QUOTE]

Yes. We all know that Christian is an American Citizen. This approach is nothing new. Bernt has been an American citizen for 25 years. Kjell Inge’s long game in America has been in effect for a long time. He made his initial fortune in America by combining American opportunity in an undercapitalized industry with readily available Norwegian financing designed to support struggling industries and social programs in Norway. Many Norwegians have done very well in America with help from the Norwegian Government. For his second act, Kjell Inge took American capitalism home to Norge and grabbed control of the venerable old Norwegian firm Aker in a hostile takeover. Probably the first hostile takeover in Norway since the Vikings.

Are you from Aalesund?

41

[QUOTE=tugsailor;176027]Are you from Aalesund?[/QUOTE]

Nope, just working for the sunnmøringene :slight_smile:

42

even though this story concerns Austal it is just as hideous how the Navee just shovels money at these two companies to build COMPLETELY WORTHLESS SHIT and then be given a huge thankyou gift in more than $50M in contract “modifications” which likely are the fix the crap workmanship and lousy design work the builder was already guilty of. ASTOUNDING!

[B]Mod could add $198.3 million to Austal LCS contract[/B]

DECEMBER 22, 2015 — Austal USA has been awarded a contract modification that adds$51,684,797 to its 10-ship $3.5 billion Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) contract for the U.S. Navy.

The shipbuilder says the work includes design services for upgrades to the LCS and preliminary design for the U.S. Navy’s future Frigate. It says that the contract is expected to be worth $198,385,545 over three years if options are exercised.

“We’re excited about this contract as it reflects the Navy’s confidence in our ability to support these warships and the program as a whole,” said Austal USA President Craig Perciavalle.

Work will begin immediately and will be performed at Austal’s Mobile, AL, shipyard.

“This work lays a solid foundation for our growing support business and will continue to grow as these ships deliver and enter the fleet,” said Mr.Perciavalle.

Austal says its LCS and Frigate design services consist of special studies supporting engineering design and trade-offs, core class studies that support program management efforts including configuration control and maintenance of the class design for ships under construction, and class services which include ongoing technical support for design modifications and maintenance of the LCS configuration and baseline design for delivered ships as well as future flight upgrades.

These upgrades include preliminary design efforts for the LCS transition to the frigate.