by Jaime Guillet

http://www.neworleanscitybusiness.com/

Northrop Grumman employees stand in front of the companys newest ship, the LPD New York, which was built at Northrops Avondale facility. (Photo by Jaime Guillet)

The Northrop Grumman Corp. shipbuilding sector has undergone major renovations, but company executives say they will have little effect on the 268-acre Avondale shipyard.

On Jan. 28, Northrop consolidated its two former shipbuilding sectors Newport News, Va., and Ship Systems, which includes Avondale and Pascagoula, Miss., into one division Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding.

As the nations sole industrial designer, builder and fuel supplier of nuclear-powered aircraft carriers and one of two companies that designs and builds nuclear-powered submarines, Northrops shipbuilding presence in Louisiana is significant. Although headquartered in Los Angeles, Northrops shipbuilding activity in Louisiana accounts for nearly 5,500 jobs and a $168-million economic impact in 2007.

Northrops goal for the recent realignment was to find better ways to deploy our people, capital assets and technology, said C. Michael Petters, Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding president.

(The realignment) is a critical part of our strategy of building ships in the future, Petters said. (Its) four months into the experiment and weve made substantial progress.

While Northrop has consistently talked about a need for more employees at its Avondale yard the past few years, Petters said he is comfortable with its current standing.

All in all, were pretty well staffed in Avondale. Were in pretty good shape, Petters said.

The most significant event in 2007 for both yards was the christening of the amphibious transport dock ship USS New York, which is constructed with 7.5 tons of steel from the World Trade Center destroyed in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, said Bill Glenn, a spokesman for the companys Pascagoula facility.

Between the Louisiana and Mississippi shipyards, Northrop continues to work on 12 shipbuilding contracts comprising four classes of ships. The company recently delivered two of the eight security cutters it is building for the U.S. Coast Guard.

In March, Northrop beat out Chicago-based Boeing Co. for a $35 billion-plus contract to build 179 Air Force tankers, the bulk of which should be built in the Gulf Coast area.

(The Air Force tanker) is a big win for us, Petters said. It also means more economic development for the Gulf Coast. Its an even bigger success for this part of the region. Weve very excited about this part of the country.

Northrop Grumman still awaits Congress vote to fund the 10th and 11th Landing Platform Dock-class ships in the $601 billion defense bill for 2009. The company is building the last four DDG51 class destroyers remaining on a 28-ship contract and just received the contract to build one DDG 1000 Navy destroyer.

Petters said the company will deliver two LPD-class ships to the Navy in late 2008 and into 2009.

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Crash site steel eyed for ship
BY KECIA BALThe Tribune-Democrat
Published: May 30, 2008 11:48 pm

SOMERSET As a Mississippi company nears construction on the USS Somerset a Navy ship to be constructed in honor of the Flight 93 heroes officials want to incorporate a piece of the crash site.One option is melting 25 tons of steel from a dragline at the crash site to be used in construction of the Somerset, an amphibious transport dock ship.
A similar idea worked for the USS New York, built as a tribute to those who suffered on Sept. 11, 2001. Part of that ship was built using 21 tons of steel from the former World Trade Center towers.
This has been in the works for a while, Somerset County Commissioner John Vatavuk said. A contractor is to be on site Monday to transport the metal to a smelting plant in Newport News, Va., he said.

But a spokesman with Northrop Grumman, which built the New York and is building the USS Somerset and USS Arlington, could not confirm the news.

He said officials have been working to find a way to incorporate each site into the 684-foot-long vessels. Construction on the Somerset has not started.

Flight 93 Ambassador Dave Zwick said the dragline a crane with a bucket attached that is used in coal mining has been a part of the crash site from the beginning and is one of the scenes visitors remember. The machine, about a half-mile north of the crash site, was parked there a couple years before Sept. 11, 2001, and has been idle since.

Zwick helped propose the idea of using steel from the machine to county officials a few months ago.

I thought it would be appropriate, with our mining heritage, he said.

Zwick had read about the attempts to use artifacts from the other crash sites in those vessels.

I thought, if they are making one for Somerset, they ought to have something from Somerset, Zwick added.

In 2004, Navy Secretary Gordon England announced that USS Somerset would be the name of the ninth San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock ship.

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Ship incorporates steel from the World Trade Center
Last Edited: Sunday, 02 Mar 2008, 5:57 PM EST
Created: Saturday, 01 Mar 2008, 8:55 PM EST

MYFOXNY.COM The U.S. Navy christened a new warship Saturday that pays tribute to the victims of the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks. The amphibious transport dock ship New York is officially named for the state but informally pays tribute to the city and the victims of the attacks. More than seven tons of steel salvaged from the wreckage of the World Trade Center was melted down and used in the construction of the bow stem.

It was named the New York at the request of then-Gov. George Pataki, who wrote a letter to the Navy after the attacks.Thousands of people, including friends and families of 9/11 victims, gathered Saturday at the ceremony at Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding facilities outside of New Orleans. The official motto of New York is Never Forget, which is painted on the hull.

This is a special day for a magnificent ship that has a special place in the heart of every American, Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England said during the ceremony. On the day the towers fell, all Americans were New Yorkers.

May God bless this ship and all who sail on her, ship sponsor Dotty England said before smashing a bottle of champagne against it, producing a loud thump to go with the spurting liquid and flying streamers.

The diesel-powered 25,000-ton San Antonio class vessel is 684 feet long, 105 feet wide and cost a billion dollars. It is armed with missile launches and two 30-millimeter guns. It will have a crew of 360 sailors and three Marines. It is also designed to transport a landing force of up to 800 Marines. The ship can launch four Sea Knight transport helicopters or two Osprey aircraft.

The prospective commanding officer is Cmdr. F. Curtis Jones who is from Binghamton, N.Y. The New York will be commissioned and added to the fleet next year in a ceremony at New York City, officially becoming the USS New York.

Two more San Antonio ships under construction include the Arlington and the Somerset, named for the other locations affected by Sept. 11: the Pentagon in Arlington, Va., and the field in Somerset, Pa., where United 93 crashed.

It is the fifth ship in the U.S. Navy to be named New York. The last was a battleship that served in both World Wars and was decommissioned in 1946. In addition, one Navy submarine was known as the USS New York City, and served the Navy from 1979 to 1997.

MyFoxNY.com with Associated Press and American Forces Press Service reports

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