Requirements Balancer Adm. Robert J. Papp Jr. - KMI Media Group

Dedicated to Those Who Are Always Ready
Requirements
Balancer
Adm. Robert J.
Papp Jr.
Commandant
U.S. Coast Guard
www.CGF-kmi.com
May 2013
Volume 5, Issue 1
View from
the hill
U.S. Representative
Howard Coble
(R-N.C.)
Cleaner, Better Engines O Icebreakers O C4ISR Technologies
Maritime Domain Awareness O Oil Spill Response O Safety

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U.S. Coast guard forum
May 2013
Volume 5, Issue 1
Features
Cover / Q&A
5
VIEW FROMTHE HILL
Despite the Coast
Guard’s reputation
of doing more
with less, this
Congressman is
convinced that
our current asset
deployment in the
Arctic Region is
exceptionally inadequate.
By Rep. Howard Coble (R-N.C.)
23
Coast Guard C4ISR
Technologies
The technological eyes and ears of
the Coast Guard. Whether looking
for the latest drug-running semisubmersible
or a sailor lost at sea—it
takes a keen eye with the right tools
to get the job done.
By Jeff Goldman
16
6
Dirty Business
An oil spill can be
disastrous, but the
response can be
the measure of the
event. Pre-planning
and technology come
together to drive
solutions.
By Peter Buxbaum
9
Cleaner, Better
Engines
Engine designers
must meet emission
rules, but should
seek to do much
more. Fuel efficiency,
Departments
2 Editor’s Perspective
3 Nav Notes
14 On The Horizon
27 Resource Center
reliability, low
maintenance cost,
size and weight
are also important
considerations for
customers and thus
engine makers.
By Henry Canaday
12
On Thin Ice
Changing Arctic
sea ice patterns
and traffic create
greater need for
icebreakers. Can the
Coast Guard—and
the U.S.—protect its
interests with so few
icebreakers?
By John M. Doyle
20
Precaution is
Key
Off-load marine
hooks are found
on workboats and
military vessels
around the world and
are used to launch
fast rescue craft and
other similar small
manned boats from
the deck of a ship
using a davit or other
similar launch and
recovery system.
Maintenance and
certification of critical
parts are key to the
safety of life at sea.
By Michael Gabriel
Industry Interview
28
21
Maritime Domain
Awareness
The U.S. Coast
Guard is charged
with protecting
the homeland and
ensuring the security
of our harbors, ports
and waterways. But
homeland defense
does not begin at the
border. It begins far
from home. Maritime
domain awareness
requires end-to-end
vigilance.
By Ned Lundquist
William (Bill) E. Skinner
Chief Executive Officer
VT Halter Marine Shipyard
Admiral Robert J. Papp Jr.
Commandant
U.S. Coast Guard
“From an
operational
perspective, the
Coast Guard’s
most pressing
need is to invest
in recapitalization
of the offshore
cutter fleet.
Given the
condition of our
fleet—many
older than 45
years—we
must continue
to recapitalize
cutters, boats
and aircraft.”
- Adm. Robert J.
Papp

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Volume 5, Issue 1 • May 2013
Dedicated to Those Who
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EDITOR’S PERSPECTIVE
The Coast Guard is proud of its support in Operation Arctic, an interagency
effort that saw them deploy a national security cutter (NSC), two ice-capable
buoy tenders and two helicopters 300 miles north of the Arctic Circle. The NSC
performed as expected and was a linchpin to the successful operations.
The fiscal year 2014 budget provides a request for the seventh national
security cutter. The ship is critical because of the capabilities that it delivers to
the fleet, but also to fill the gap left by the decommissioning of high endurance
cutters as they reach the end of their useful service life. As has been discussed in
the pages of Coast Guard Forum many times in the past, while the replacement
of cutters is not being done on a one-for-one basis, what the NSCs and the fast
response cutters bring to the operational toolkit exceeds what the older cutters
Jeffrey D. McKaughan
Editor-IN-CHIEF
could provide. While the numbers may decline, overall mission capabilities should increase—so long as the
numbers of ships in the fleet never fall below a critical mass.
On the other hand, is nine years a long time or not? That’s about how long the Coast Guard has to
sustain the Polar Star until the next-generation icebreaker is projected to be ready. Reacquisition activities
are currently being funded (see the chart on page 13) and the Coast Guard and Congress seem committed to
moving the project forward. The Coast Guard has allies on the Hill; Representative Howard Coble—himself
a former Coastie—is concerned about the country’s ability to project and protect its national interests in the
polar arctic region if we are one of the few nations competing in that area without a true heavy icebreaker. As
he puts it, we can’t keep doing something with nothing!
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NAV NOTES
Compiled by KMI Media Group staff
Bollinger Shipyards Inc. has delivered the
Margaret Norvell, the fifth fast response cutter
(FRC), to the U.S. Coast Guard. The announcement
was made by Bollinger Executive Vice President of
New Construction, Chris Bollinger. “We are very
pleased to announce another successful on-time
delivery to the Coast Guard. The Margaret Norvell
was delivered to the 7th Coast Guard District
in Key West, Fla., and will be stationed at USCG
Sector Miami. We are all looking forward to the
vessel’s commissioning, as well as honoring and
celebrating the heroic acts of Margaret Norvell.”
The 154-foot patrol craft Margaret Norvell
is the fifth vessel in the Coast Guard’s Sentinelclass
FRC program. To build the FRC, Bollinger
Shipyards used a proven, in-service parent craft
design based on the Damen Stan Patrol Boat
4708. It has a flank speed of 28 knots, state of
the art command, control, communications and
computer technology, and a stern launch system
for the vesse’ls 2- foot cutter boat. The FRC has
been described as an operational game changer,
by senior Coast Guard officials.
Newest FRC Delivered
The Coast Guard took delivery March 21,
2013, in Key West, Fla., and is scheduled to
commission the vessel in New Orleans, Louisiana
in June 2013.
Each FRC is named for an enlisted Coast
Guard hero who distinguished him or herself
in the line of duty. This vessel is named after
Coast Guard hero Margaret Norvell for serving
admirably for 41 years with the U.S. Lighthouse
Service in Louisiana from 1891 to 1932. Her
devotion to duty saved the lives of countless
sailors as she vigilantly stood the watch. Norvell
served as keeper of both the Port Ponchartrain
Light and the West End Light.
Contractor Support
for Sentinel Cutter
Build
The contract award for 18 Sentinel-class
cutters has required the establishment of a project
residence office (PRO) at the contractors’ facility
in Lockport, La. The requested billet structure will
remain unfulfilled as a result of limited USCG
personnel resources. The Coast Guard, therefore,
has issued a solicitation for on-site contractor
support services for the PRO. The contractor shall
provide design review and validation services in
support of the Sentinel-class patrol craft project.
The contractor will also provide support tasks to
include test inspection and quality assurance for
the cutters during construction, shipyard trials,
delivery and post-delivery warranty periods.
The Coast Guard uses Fleet Broadband
(FB), Swift-64 and BGAN (Broadband, Swift
Broadband) services to support underway
cutters, aircraft and Portable SIPRNET
Kits (PSK). These services are part of the
Inmarsat family of services available
commercially. The aviation Swift-64 service
is a dial-on-demand service and is being
upgraded to the Swift Broadband (SB)
Inmarsat service. All Inmarsat services
to the Coast Guard are supported 24/7
by the InmarsatGov Network Operations
Security Center (NOSC). Each Coast Guard
asset with an Inmarsat terminal has a
unique subscriber identity module (SIM)
that allows tracking of air time. Inmarsat
provides a database to the Coast Guard
customer that allows tracking of SIM MB
levels and performance and activity state of
any Coast Guard terminal SIM.
The USCG C4IT Service Center,
Telecommunications Information Systems
Command has a requirement to provide
connectivity to the Coast Guard Data
Network (CGONE) to mobile assets (cutters,
Broadband Services
airplanes and portable networking kits).
These assets when underway, airborne
or deployed abroad leverage Inmarsat’s
Advances Services (Fleet BGAN) portfolio
of air time and support services to provide
the path to the Coast Guard Multi-Protocol
Labeled Switching GuardianNet network.
The GuardianNet network then backhauls
all Inmarsat Advances Services connections
to the CGONE network. The entire path
thus allows our forward deployed units
the ability to conduct their multi-mission
tasking. This design and connectivity path
is installed and has been in effect since
2009.
The Coast Guard is seeking a contract
to obtain Inmarsat Advanced Service (Fleet
Broadband, Swift Broadband, BGAN) data
single corporate access plans (SCAPs). It
is the Coast Guard’s intension to purchase
air time for up to 50 cutters and up to 40
aircraft. There will be airtime SCAPS for
each service (FB, SB, BGAN) and the NOSC
and database SIM/SCAP tracking will not
be charged.
www.CGF-kmi.com CGF 5.1 | 3

NAV NOTES
Compiled by KMI Media Group staff
Sniper Simulation
Laser Shot provides a sniper simulator known
as the long range precision shooting simulator
(LRPSS). The simulated rifle which has the ability
to come with recoil or non-recoil functions contains
sensors to allow for trigger pressure, butt stock
pressure, the canting of the weapon, ammunition
loaded or unloaded, etc. The Laser Shot’s Series
II weapon technology allows for customization of
various sniper rifles based on customer needs. The
rifle can facilitate two types of modified optics, the
simulated ACOG and the simulated rifle scope and
can be built in custom mountable scopes. There is
also an optional simulated spotter scope.
The combined optics give the sniper a high
definition 1280x1024 in-optic micro-display that
emulates a real world tactical environment.
LRPSS uses Virtual Battlespace 2 (VBS2) simulation
software, which uses real-world ballistics
effects built into its engine, including bullet drop,
windage, variety of calibers, shooters angle, and the
capability for Laser Shot to customize the ballistic
engine to the snipers requirements.
Coast Guard Academy
Christens New
Research Vessel
On April 26, the U.S. Coast Guard Academy christened
the Michael J. Greeley, a new research vessel.
The vessel will greatly expand the academy’s capabilities
to conduct oceanographic research that will
enhance the marine science curriculum. The Michael
J. Greeley is capable of performing long-distance
trips, enabling coursework to take place not only in
the Thames River but also in Long Island Sound and
beyond. Expanded field operations are expected to
translate into expanded laboratory operations, which
will enhance hands-on learning opportunities for
cadets.
The vessel was acquired as a gift from the U.S.
Coast Guard Academy Class of ‘61 through the U.S.
Coast Guard Academy Alumni Association. The engines
and hydraulic equipment was supplied by the U.S.
Coast Guard Academy. The boat was designed by
Response Marine, Inc., Newburyport, Mass., and built
by Viking Welding and Fabrication in Kensington, N.H.
The vessel will be operated by personnel, active
duty and civilian, who successfully complete the qualification
training program.
Aids to Navigation Team’s New Facility
The commander of Coast Guard Sector Charleston, Captain Michael White, and members
of Coast Guard Aids to Navigation Team (ANT) Georgetown formally celebrated the completion
of the ANT’s new facility, located adjacent to Station Georgetown, during a building
dedication ceremony.
Members of ANT Georgetown previously shared a small one-room workspace with Station
Georgetown.
Improvements include offices for each member of the ANT Georgetown command, ample
space to conduct training and an enclosed garage bay with a machine shop where the ANT’s
boat can be maintained and repaired in any weather.
The new building will enable ANT Georgetown to improve its service to the community
and is more conducive to daily operations, said ANT Georgetown Officer in Charge, Petty
Officer 1st Class David Browne. It was custom-built to support the ANT’s primary mission
of servicing and maintaining roughly 250 navigational aids used by mariners to mark safe
passages.
This is the first time ANT Georgetown has been in its own building, and during the
ceremony White told the ANT members the new building is their home, highlighting the fact
that they now have the right spaces with the right equipment.
The entire process, from planning to completion, took about five years, said Browne.
H-65 Automatic Flight Control System
The Coast Guard operates a fleet of 101
H-65 aircraft. In 2004, a major acquisition to
modernize the USCG’s H-65 helicopter was initiated
as part of the Deepwater Project. This project
was later subdivided into six discrete segments to
increase capability and extend the life expectancy
of the H-65 aircraft. The final phase of the
project, known as Discrete Segment 6 (DS 6),
addresses the remaining subsystem obsolescence
issues including installation of the common
avionics architecture system and modernizing
the aging and increasingly unreliable analog
automatic flight control system (AFCS) in the
H-65. This procurement to upgrade the AFCS
system is one of the last steps in the modernization
process. The improved aircraft will be
designated as the MH-65E.
A system specification has been developed
for the acquisition of a replacement AFCS for
the H-65 aircraft. The replacement AFCS will
be installed, tested, and refined in accordance
with a government defined integration plan. The
Coast Guard is seeking a contractor that has and
can install a new AFCS system, ideally a drop-in
installation capable of being done by a field team
at an operational unit.
4 | CGF 5.1
www.CGF-kmi.com

VIEW FROM THE HILL
Doing Something
with Nothing
By Rep. Howard Coble (R-N.C.)
During my tenure in Congress, I have had many opportunities
to reflect on my career in the United States Coast Guard. As a past
chairman and longtime member of the Coast Guard and Maritime
Transportation Subcommittee in the House Committee on Transportation
and Infrastructure, [I know that] decisions are regularly made
regarding mission analysis and strategic asset capabilities. Memories of
one of my most enjoyable mission assignments also lead me to articulate
a great concern with our high-latitude region presence. Despite
the Coast Guard’s reputation of doing more with less, I am convinced
that our current asset deployment in the Arctic Region is exceptionally
inadequate.
In June 1956, I was able to utilize a mutual transfer that resulted in
my assignment to the USCGC Northwind as it made its way to the Arctic
Region to resupply ships and radar stations. Known as the Grand
Old Lady of the North, the Northwind had a top speed of 13 knots
and measured 269 feet. For a Yeoman 2nd Class from the Piedmont
of North Carolina, this was truly an adventure, as I bid farewell to the
brown bears of my home state and hello to polar bears in the Arctic.
Many of the Coasties from that era still remember that the Order of the
Blue Nose was an honor, although at times a little bit uncomfortable.
Time has moved on and our mission requirements have increased.
Unfortunately, our asset capabilities haven’t kept pace. As recent analysis
by ABS Consulting has shown, the capacity gap leaves four areas of
responsibility vulnerable to mission degradation: defense readiness, ice
operations, marine environmental protection, and ports, waterways,
and coastal security. We need to rethink our asset capabilities going
forward.
Currently we have one icebreaker in service, and that is only a
medium icebreaker. The USCGC Healy carries the statutory mission’s
workload that should be assigned to a minimum of three heavy and
three medium icebreakers. While Healy’s expected service life reaches
to 2030, the Coast Guard’s two heavy icebreakers, which were commissioned
in 1976 and 1977, remain out of active service. Polar Sea is in
an inactive status with no plans to reactive her. Polar Star is currently
being reactivated for service later next year with an expected service
life of seven to 10 years.
Coast Guard’s icebreakers play an important role in supporting
and protecting United States interests in the Polar regions. Let’s look
at the six national objectives established by National Security Presidential
Directive 66 and Homeland Security Directive 25:
1. Meet national security and homeland security needs relevant to
the Arctic region.
2. Protect the Arctic environment and conserve its biological
resources.
3. Ensure that natural resource management and economic
development in the region are environmentally sustainable.
4. Strengthen institutions for cooperation among the eight Arctic
nations (the United States, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland,
Norway, the Russian Federation and Sweden).
5. Involve the Arctic’s indigenous communities in decisions that
affect them.
6. Enhance scientific monitoring and research into local, regional
and global environmental issues.
Given the national objectives stated above, you begin to imagine
the magnitude of the task at hand and the incredibly vast area the
Coast Guard has to monitor. Six percent of the planet’s surface is covered
by the Arctic Circle, which is comprised of an ice sheet four times
the size of Texas. Some 15.5 million square miles are covered by the
Arctic Ocean, which hosts a population of approximately 1.5 million
inhabitants. Maintaining a strategic presence over this vast expanse of
land is far beyond our current capability.
Two areas of U.S. interest, political and economic, will also help
amplify future responsibility. Oil and gas exploration, oil and gas
recovery, and the addition of potential shipping lanes will expand
Coast Guard obligations, as will the incident risk made more possible
by international claims on territorial seas. The five nations that claim
these rights are the United States, Canada, Denmark, Norway and the
Russian Federation. In addition, Iceland, Sweden and Norway also
assert rights to territories above the Arctic Circle.
In examining theoretical mixes of Coast Guard assets, including
icebreakers, helicopters and forward operating locations, it was determined
that a build-out of the icebreaker fleet, along with improved
communications, medium range aircraft and advanced aviation locations
in Alaska could be a suitable foundation for future operations
in the Arctic. Further risk analysis shows that these theoretical force
packages, based on fleet increases, could be used to counter future
Arctic incidents and would greatly magnify the effectiveness of current
assets operating in the Bering Sea.
In plain language, we need to make a real effort to increase the
number of icebreakers in service before the situation deteriorates
further. In the dwindling days of our mission in Afghanistan, it would
be a prudent use of those savings to invest $3 billion over the next
two appropriation cycles to guarantee our mission compliance. Doing
more with less is a source of pride for all Coasties. Due to lack of attention
to this problem, however, our mission has evolved into doing
something with nothing. Semper paratus indeed, but we need to be
fully funded, too. O
For more information, contact Editor-In-Chief
Jeff McKaughan jeffm@kmimediagroup.com or
search our online archives for related stories at www.cgf-kmi.com.
www.CGF-kmi.com CGF 5.1 | 5

An oil spill can be disastrous, but the response can be the measure
of the event.
By Peter Buxbaum
CGF Correspondent
It might be hard to believe, but some good actually
emerged from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill and
disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. Because of the magnitude
of the incident, British Petroleum, the owner of the well,
was motivated to call upon companies to provide ideas for
containing and cleaning up the spill. As a result, future oil
cleanup crews will have new options on how to respond to
a spill.
6 | CGF 5.1
www.CGF-kmi.com

The explosion that tore through BP’s drilling rig on April 20,
2010, began a human, economic and environmental disaster. An
oil discharge continued for 84 days, resulting in the largest oil
spill in U.S. waters, an estimated 206 million gallons. Eleven crew
members died on that day and others were seriously injured. BP
recently agreed to plead guilty to manslaughter in the deaths of
the 11 and to pay $4 billion in penalties.
BP also funded the response activities, led by the U.S. Coast
Guard and supported by other federal agencies as well as state and
local governments, and paid out claims to injured parties estimated
to eventually total close to $22 billion. As recently as January
2013, over 900 response personnel were still on duty and 339
miles of shoreline remained subject to evaluation and/or cleanup.
When a major oil spill occurs, teams provided by local, state
and federal agencies act to contain and clean up the spill, and to
minimize damage to health and the environment. This National
Response System is activated when the National Response Center
receives notification of an oil spill. The National Response Center
(NRC), a multi-department entity hosted at Coast Guard headquarters
in Washington, D.C., gets the first word when an oil spill
occurs.
The Deepwater Horizon incident represents the largest and
most disastrous oil spill in U.S. history. Not every oil spill is as
tragic or impactful, but they occur with regularity. According to
figures supplied by the National Response Center, 32,551 oil and
chemical spills were reported in 2012. That annual figure has
remained fairly steady in the last 12 years. Since 2000, the number
of spills reported in any given year has varied between 31,886 in
2009 and 36,855 in 2006.
If any good can be said to have flowed from Deepwater Horizon,
it is that new technologies for containing and cleaning up oil
spills have come to light, thanks to the call by BP to companies
that could help in the cleanup efforts. Of some 140,000 ideas submitted
to BP, 15 went through an evaluation process and an even
smaller number were actually deployed to the Gulf during the
disaster. Two of the companies BP called on to help in the cleanup
were C.I.Agent Solutions, a company based in Louisville, Ky., and
UltraTech International Inc., headquartered in San Jose, Calif.
“Before the Gulf oil disaster, everyone had been using the
same technology for 20 years,” said Mark Shaw, co-president of
UltraTech. “BP provided an opportunity for new technologies to
be explored.”
C.I.Agent was stationed on Dauphin Island, Ala., beginning on
April 26, less than a week after the explosion. Together with the
Alabama National Guard, C.I.Agent personnel built a six-mile oilwater
separator, a barrier created to allow the use of the company’s
blend of polymers that solidifies hydrocarbons into a recyclable
rubber-like mass.
“We ended up not using any polymer,” said Dan Parker,
C.I.Agent Solutions’ founder and president, “because the oil never
reached Dauphin Island. We built the barrier to separate the oil
from the water if the oil sheen made its way to the beach.”
The National Response System was set up in 1968 pursuant to
the National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency
Plan (National Contingency Plan, or NCP, for short) to provide
planning and organization to efforts to deal with large oil spills.
The NRC was set up later, becoming operational in August 1974,
for the reporting and coordination of response to pollution by oil
and hazardous substances.
The National Response System, a network of individuals and
teams from local, state and federal agencies, combine their expertise
and resources to ensure that oil spill control and cleanup activities
are timely, efficient and minimize threats to human health
and the environment. The system includes on-scene coordinators
(OSCs), a national response team and regional response teams.
OSCs are federal officials responsible for directing response
actions and coordinating all other efforts at the scene of a discharge
or spill. They also work in partnership with other federal, state,
local and private response agencies. OSCs come from the Coast
Guard, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the U.S.
Department of Energy or the U.S. Department of Defense, depending
on the location and nature of the spill.
The Coast Guard and EPA have the greatest responsibility for
responding to oil spill emergencies. “When a spill occurs in coastal
waters, the local Coast Guard port commander is the OSC,” said
Syed Qadir, the director of the National Response Center. “When a
spill occurs in an inland area, such as a spill from a pipeline or rail
tank car, a regional EPA official is assigned as the OSC. The OSC
is responsible for assessment, monitoring, response assistance and
reporting.”
When a spill occurs, the organization responsible for the
release or spill is required by law to notify the NRC if the amount
of a hazardous substance release or oil spill exceeds the established
reporting trigger. “Once a report is made, the NRC immediately
notifies an OSC,” said Qadir. “The OSC determines the status of the
response by state and local government responders and the company
responsible for the release or spill. The OSC also monitors the
situation to determine whether, or how much, federal involvement
is necessary.”
The NRC itself is composed of representatives from 16 federal
agencies. Although located at Coast Guard headquarters, the NRC
is not a Coast Guard unit but is considered to be an independent
federal government entity. “The costs and operations of the center
are supported by these several federal agencies,” said Qadir. Qadir
himself happens to be a Coast Guard employee.
“The NRC is strictly a communications and operations center,”
said Qadir. “The response is taken care of by the on-scene coordinator.
We facilitate and coordinate communications with the national
response team. The NRC briefs the White House, the Department
of Homeland Security and the Secretary of Transportation regarding
significant transportation emergencies reported to the center.
We also provide information to the Coast Guard’s Office of Marine
Safety, Security, and Environmental Protection for a variety of
reports, studies or Congressional inquiries.”
Both UltraTech International and C.I.Agent Solutions have
developed materials that can isolate oil spills and separate oil from
water so that the oil can be removed and cleaned up. In addition,
UltraTech cultivates and markets specialized microbes which can
actually metabolize hydrocarbons.
“We created an oil fencing product that acts like a fence around
a construction site,” said Shaw. “During Deepwater, BP deployed
this fencing in the water close to the water line so that, as the surf
rose and fell, the oil could be captured in the fabric and removed
so that it would not reach the beach.” BP bought 30 miles of
UltraTech’s oil boom product and placed it along the shore lines of
Mississippi and Louisiana.
The booms, made from UltraTech’s Ultra-X-Tex fabric, differs
from its predecessors in that it absorbs both oil and water but then
www.CGF-kmi.com CGF 5.1 | 7

expels the water as it is replaced by oil. “Older fabrics are made
with polypropylene absorbents that repel water and then absorb
oil,” said Shaw. “The problem with these is that the water gets in
the way of the oil. The water can’t pass through the fabric and it
gets blown out of the way. Our patented fabric absorbs both oil
and water but then selectively retains the oil and lets the water
molecules go through.”
Ultra-X-Tex, which has been in use for 10 years for storm water
management, was deployed for the first time in connection with
an oil spill during the Gulf disaster. The fabric has the capacity to
absorb two-thirds of a gallon per square yard. “Once they are saturated
they can be removed and replaced,” said Shaw. “An industrial
wringer can remove 80 percent of the oil out of fabric and it can be
reused, or it can be incinerated.”
C.I.Agent’s solidifiers are polymers listed on the EPA NCP
product schedule and have been approved for work on oil spills in
open waters. “There are certain conditions attached to this,” said
Parker. “The spill has to be contained, meaning a boom had to be
put out first, it has to be recovered, and it can’t be put on animals.”
C.I.Agent has a partner company in Australia that invented
a cannon-like device to disperse the polymers through a water
stream. Coast Guards in the Scandinavian and Baltic regions have
used this system to contain oil spills there. The water cannon was
also used in connection with the Gulf cleanup.
C.I.Agent solidifying polymers works on a full spectrum of
hydrocarbons, from gasoline to crude oil.
The polymers solidify and detoxify hydrocarbons upon contact
for spill control. Hydrocarbons solidified become non-hazardous
and float on the water. “Solidified hydrocarbons can be reused in
various industrial applications, for example in asphalt, or burned
as fuel,” said Parker.
Once the spill matter has been solidified, responders can use
skimmers to clean it up. “We are getting recovery of over 90 percent
of the material with this process,” said Parker.
Oil spills need to be contained or fenced in before the polymers
are applied. This job can be accomplished with the C.I.Agent
Barrier Boom. The boom allows the unimpeded flow of water but
becomes an impervious barrier in the event of an oil release. The
barrier boom is constructed from non-woven geo-textiles filled
with C.I.Agent granules and backed with Agent-X, a non-woven
geo-textile material with C.I.Agent embedded within the fabric.
In addition to the oil-water separator, the company deployed
three new products during the Gulf oil spill cleanup and containment
efforts. C.I.Agent CLAM (continuous low-level aquatic monitoring)
is a submersible extraction sampler to sequester pesticides,
herbicides and other trace organic materials from the water.
C.I.Agent Hydrocarbon Detection Strips determine the presence
of hydrocarbons in water. When the strip is introduced into a
potential hydrocarbon situation, the light blue strip turns a darker
blue if hydrocarbons are present. The color intensity and size of
the darker blue areas are indications of the quantity of hydrocarbons
contained in the sample. The third new product used was the
water cannon.
UltraTech presented another technology to BP that the latter
chose not to test but that Shaw claims can supercharge future
oil cleanup efforts. “There was some discussion during the Gulf
oil spill saying that 50 percent of the oil may have been eaten by
naturally occurring microbes in the ocean,” he said.
UltraTech has a product called UltraMicrobe which is made
out of archaea, one of the oldest organisms. “It is the first microbe
bioremediation agent on the NCP list,” said Shaw. “Research at
Louisiana State University to test the effectiveness of various
agents showed that the microbe destroyed 99.6 percent of the
hydrocarbons and that the microbe was far better than anything
out there.”
UltraMicrobe is specifically cultivated for bioremediation in sea
water, crude oil and ammonia. “That is what they grow up on,” said
Shaw. “They are trained like Spartan warriors to destroy hydrocarbons.
After they digest the toxic material, it comes out as carbon,
hydrogen and a fatty acid, all benign, non-hazardous materials.”
Given the frequency of oil spills, companies like UltraTech
and C.I.Agent will have plenty of practice and proofs of concept
in case another catastrophic spill like the Deepwater Horizons
occurs. Government agencies and private companies also conduct
exercises on a regular basis in which these newer technologies are
put to the test.
“BP is still stimulating a lot of activity in this area,” said
Parker. “They are challenging us and working with us to come up
with newer and better technologies.” O
For more information, contact Editor-In-Chief
Jeff McKaughan jeffm@kmimediagroup.com or
search our online archives for related stories at www.cgf-kmi.com.
8 | CGF 5.1
www.CGF-kmi.com

Cleaner, Better
Engines
Fuel Efficiency
maintenance cost
cylinder use
More power is not always the answer,
but more efficient power can be.
By Henry Canaday
CGF Correspondent
Engines for all Coast Guard vessels are heavily affected by the
ongoing advances in emission rules, both in the U.S. and worldwide.
These rules tend to tighten most and earliest for larger
engines but will eventually affect engines of all sizes.
Engine designers must meet emission rules, but should seek to
do much more. Fuel efficiency, reliability, low maintenance cost,
size and weight are also important considerations for customers
and thus engine makers.
The first requirement of good design is to achieve emission
goals without giving up too much in fuel efficiency or other objectives.
Often, a new design may actually gain along other dimensions
while it reaches tougher environmental goals.
Much engine design is still in flux. Some future emission
requirements are known and design is well along in development.
Other requirements, especially for smaller engines, are still not
certain, and some design decisions must still be made. Engine
makers are thus at different points on the design curve, depending
partly on what kinds of engines they manufacture.
Most engine makers tend to be very proud of their products.
“We do it better than the next guy,” said Karl Sandstrom, project
leader for BRP’s Outboard Engines Division. “Evinrude E-TEC
is the cleanest, most efficient and powerful technology available
today.”
While many competitive engines are four-stroke, E-TEC outboards
features a direct-injection, two-stroke design that provides
a smaller and lighter package. “A lightweight engine is important
to the way a boat handles while navigating through varying sea
conditions, cruising, running full speed or even coming on or off
plane,” Sandstrom said.
Offering a direct-injected, two-stroke design also means E-TEC
engines are very powerful at low-end torque because there is one
power stroke for every revolution, rather than one for every other
revolution as in four-stroke engines. “In fact, E-TEC outboards
produce so much low-end torque that you typically can plane a
larger twin-engine boat with only one engine, without having to
change the propeller,” Sandstrom said. “That kind of power can be
important to the Coast Guard when having to operate in heavy seas
or when rescuing or towing other vessels.”
E-TEC outboards also feature an advanced two-stage form of
direct fuel injection (DFI) that includes both stratified and homogeneous
combustion. In the stratified mode, an onboard computer
instructs the spark plug to ignite the fuel charge immediately as it
enters the combustion chamber. This uses only a small portion of
the cylinder, effectively allowing the engine to operate like a much
smaller engine.
Not available on any four-stroke outboard, stratified combustion
is featured on all E-TEC engines at slower operating speeds,
providing superior fuel efficiency and greater range. “Superior efficiency
at lower throttle settings is important because based on the
ICOMIA [International Council of Marine Industry Associations]
duty cycle, the industry standard used by the U.S. EPA [Environmental
Protection Agency], an average boater operates their engine
at idle speed about 40 percent of the time,” Sandstrom noted.
In addition to unsurpassed fuel economy, stratified combustion
has the additional benefits of lower emissions and fewer fumes,
which can be particularly important when operating at slow speeds
or in a following sea. At idle speeds, an E-TEC emits up to 80 times
less carbon monoxide than a typical competitor’s four-stroke outboard.
“It’s very efficient. The stratified mode makes the combustion
process and running quality very controlled and very clean,”
Sandstrom explained.
If operators have a 300-horsepower engine, they do not need
300 horsepower at idle. But when more power is needed, the E-TEC
computer shifts to homogenous combustion, so fuel passes by an
unlit spark plug, fills up the entire chamber and is then ignited by
the plug. In the homogeneous mode, the engine is free to develop
its full power potential.
“All outboard engines are much better than they were 20 or
even 10 years ago,” Sandstrom acknowledged. But E-TEC twostroke
engines also yield very low maintenance costs. There is no
break-in period. “You do not have to bring it in for a 10- or 20-hour
check, and there is no annual service to change the oil, adjust or
change belts or adjust the valves like our competitors’ engines.”
E-TEC engines only require dealer-scheduled maintenance once
every three years or 300 hours, instead of the annual service that
most boaters have come to expect. And an E-TEC’s maintenance
requirements are minimal, such as changing spark plugs, gear
lube, water pump impeller and greasing fittings.
Furthermore, the typical four-stroke engine needs a lengthy
period for winterization, best done by a dealer, said Sandstrom.
www.CGF-kmi.com CGF 5.1 | 9

“Our winterization is very simple, costs almost nothing and can be
done by the user in a matter of minutes.”
The alternators on E-TEC engines also produce substantial electric
power. Smaller E-TEC engines generate 25 net amps, and the larger
engines produce a full 50 net amps of battery charging power. “At
1,000 RPM, our larger-horsepower engines deliver 30 net amps, and go
on to produce a full 50 net amps at as little as 2,000 RPM,” Sandstrom
said. “Many competitive offerings peak out at 25 or 30 amps.”
Developing an abundance of amperage at idle speeds means that
in virtually any situation, operators have positive amperage to the
battery to compensate for the drain of onboard electronics so they are
not running the batteries down. “That is important when you operate
at low speeds with lots of electronic equipment like the Coast Guard
does,” Sandstrom said.
E-TEC technology generates this electrical power using a maintenance-free,
under-the-flywheel magneto system instead of a beltdriven
alternator, which means no adjustments and no chance of a belt
breaking and needing to be replaced, reducing maintenance worries
and costs.
Maintenance costs are further reduced by solid protection against
saltwater corrosion. E-TEC uses aluminum that has some of the lowest
copper content in the industry and uses electro-deposition painting
“to get it into every nook and cranny of aluminum parts,” Sandstrom
said. Extensive use of stainless steel with fasteners and major components
helps ensure long engine life, even in the harshest saltwater
conditions.
All E-TEC engines are built with the same technology, and
Sandstrom said the entire line has more parts commonality than
competitive engine lines. “Diagnostics are the same; if you can
work on one, you can work on them all.” And all the engines are
built in Wisconsin.
New EPA regulations in January 2013 tightened emission
requirements in some respect. Beyond 2013, “nothing definitive
has been approved,” for the engine sizes BRP makes, Sandstrom
said. BRP speculates that the EPA may move toward emission levels
similar to those now applied to automobiles, and this would
require a catalytic converter. “We estimate additional legislation
may be implemented somewhere around 2018, and required levels
may go to 5 grams per kilowatt hour from the current 16 per
kWh,” Sandstrom said. “That would require a catalytic converter
for both two- and four-stroke engines.” Sandstrom added that
“when and if that level of emissions is required, Evinrude E-TEC
technology will be ready and will continue to lead the industry in
cleaner-running outboard technology.”
In addition to the full line of Evinrude E-TEC outboards,
BRP also offers a special line of multi-fuel engines built and
engineered to U.S. military specifications. “Our MFE engines
are true, multi-fuel engines. They can run on gasoline, JP5,
JP8, kerosene and even diesel—in a combat emergency,” said
Justin Antolini, BRP’s government sales manager. “These highly
advanced and vertatile engines are available in traditional propeller
and jet pump versions, have been deployed in mulitple
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theatres across the globe and offer our military personnel the
flexibility of changing from conventional gasoline to heavy fuels
at any given time.”
Cummins engine design has been driven chiefly by emission
regulations, initially voluntary but increasingly mandatory
since the U.S. signed International Maritime Organization (IMO)
Annex 6 and the EPA started its Tier 2 rules in 2004, explained
Marine Product Planning Manager Eddie Brown. “Today we are
going from Tier 2 to Tier 3 and we are in the process of upgrading
to meet these requirements,” Brown said.
When redesigning engines to meet new emission rules, Cummins
also looks at other ways to add value for customers or to
respond to any issues raised. And emission rules can pose some
tough design problems. “One challenge in meeting emission
rules is to keep fuel efficiency up. You also want the engine to be
durable, reliable and affordable to service,” Brown noted.
Coast Guard cutters typically have propulsion requirements
that are outside Cummins’ current power range. However the
company can provide auxiliary power packages to generate
emergency or ship power, as it does for the Sentinel-Class fast
response cutter with 5.9-liter engines.
For the future, Chief Engineer-Commercial Marine Mike
Aufdermauer is looking at how to meet EPA Tier 4 rules, which
have been issued for the engine sizes Cummins makes. He said
Cummins will meet tougher limits on particulates “in cylinder”—that
is, with changes in fuel injection and piston geometry,
rather than with particulate traps or filters. To meet the limit
of 2 grams of nitrogen oxide set for larger engines, Cummins
will need selective catalytic reduction (SCR). This limit applies
to engines of more than 600 kW capacity and goes into effect at
different dates, from 2014 to 2017, for different-sized engines.
For engines above 2,000 kW, Tier 4 starts in 2014.
Aufdermauer said Cummins is studying how to meet Tier 4
even as it develops Tier-3 engines. “We have proven our technology
can meet Tier 3 and then we will introduce SCR for Tier 4.”
A modified common-rail system for direct-fuel injection will be
optimized for both emissions and fuel efficiency. “We are looking
to gain back some fuel efficiency. That is why we chose SCR
technology, to gain back some fuel efficiency.”
Aufdermauer estimates that this approach will reduce the
overall cost of ownership by 5 percent, including both fuel consumption
and urea in diesel exhaust fluids.
Emission rules affect everything engines designer do now. “In
the past, you could put a product on the market for years with no
change,” the Cummins engineer said. “Now you have to change
for emissions and look at durability, reliability and efficiency and
take those into account.”
Apart from meeting new emission requirements, Cummins
is also working on expanding its power range. The company now
makes engines from 6.7 to 60 liters, or 150 to 2,700 horsepower.
In 2017 it will introduce a V16 at 95 liters and is also planning
on a V12 at 79 liters and a V20 at 120 liters.
“Tognum is currently the leading provider of high speed diesel
engine-based propulsion systems to the U.S. Coast Guard,”
said Bernard Bentgen, government and naval sales director,
Tognum America Inc. “MTU engines power the recently-commissioned
Sentinel-class cutter USCGC Bernard C. Webber and the
national security cutter USCGC Stratton, and several additional
new cutters in each of those classes.”
Tognum’s MTU engines are designed and built with leadingedge
technology, such as electronically controlled common rail
fuel injection and sequential turbocharging. This technology
reduces emissions while improving performance and fuel efficiency.
The MTU brand is more than 100 years old and has a long
legacy of excellence in marine propulsion systems.
Engine designers have long sought the perfect mix of power
and efficiency. “MTU engines have featured common-rail fuel
injection systems since 1996,” said Bentgen. “This innovative
technology has resulted in diesel engines that are more efficient,
cleaner and more powerful.”
Tognum America has an extensive network of independent distributors
and service providers that provide service and support for
all MTU customers. “In addition, the MTU training center in Canton,
Mich., provides detailed service and maintenance training on
all MTU marine engines for Coast Guard personnel,” said Bentgen.
The Coast Guard purchases a broad range of Mercury Marine
outboard motors, from 25 horsepower all the way to 300 horsepower,
for a variety of operational craft, explained Jeff Krueger,
director of sales, service & marketing for racing, commercial and
government. The 300-horsepower model is used mostly for homeland
security boats and interceptors; 150-horsepower engines propel
surface boats, and 25-horsepower engines propel flat-bottom
boats.
Krueger said Mercury outboards are available in low-emission,
two-stroke models as well as four-stroke electronic fuel injection
and four-stroke supercharged models. “We also offer a specialty
two-stroke DFI outboard that is capable of running on multiple
fuels such as kerosene, commercial Jet A and military JP fuels.”
Krueger said Mercury will continue to engineer outboard and
stern-drive products to meet and exceed current and future emission
regulations, both domestic and international. “There are a
series of steps in putting new emission requirements in place. We
intend to stay well ahead of the curve.” The Mercury exec believes
his line of engines is distinguished by its performance, advanced
technology and reliability. “These are the key factors that keep
Mercury Marine ahead of the competition.”
“From a technological standpoint, Caterpillar, along with
its peers in the industry, is constantly working to meet the latest
level of emissions standards imposed both domestically and
worldwide,” said Darrell Kuhne, manager, Global Governmental
Marine, of Caterpillar Defense & Federal Products. “Currently, we
are addressing the Tier 3 and Tier 4 standards.”
Depending on what needs to be done to meet these requirements,
Caterpillar will modify each platform accordingly. “This
may involve anything from little or no modification up to the
addition of accessories to achieve the desired level of emissions,”
Kuhne said. Both requirements and modifications will vary
depending on size of engine.
Kuhne said Caterpillar invests hundreds of millions of dollars
annually in research and development to enhance its engines and
improve cost of ownership. It also looks at global trends and tries
to position its product in line with these. O
For more information, contact Editor-In-Chief
Jeff McKaughan jeffm@kmimediagroup.com or
search our online archives for related stories at www.cgf-kmi.com.
www.CGF-kmi.com CGF 5.1 | 11

On Thin Ice
Changing Arctic sea ice patterns,traffic create
greater need for icebreakers.
By John M. Doyle
CGF Correspondent
The sea ice in the Arctic has been melting in the summer at a
faster rate than ever before, opening up new sea lanes for cargo,
cruise and warships crossing the top of the world.
But with increased traffic comes the increased risk of an
accident or emergency and an increased need for icebreakers to
smash their way through the walls of ice that still form in the
waters of the High North.
Russia, Canada and other countries that border the Arctic
have, or are building, new icebreakers, while China, which desperately
wants to find shorter, Arctic sea routes to Western markets,
has one icebreaker and is building another.
But the United States has had only one medium icebreaker for
the last two years. That is about to change. The 399-foot heavy
icebreaker, Coast Guard Heavy Icebreaker Polar Star, is rejoining
the Coast Guard fleet this year after $56 million in repairs and
upgrades at Vigor Shipyards in Seattle.
“Commercial, shipping and industrial activity
is increasing in Arctic waters each year,” said
Vigor Industrial Chief Executive Officer Frank Foti,
explaining that the Portland, Ore.-based parent of
Vigor Shipyards expects increased activity in the
Arctic to drive demand for a range of shipbuilding
and repair services—including icebreakers.
According to Coast Guard documents, the
United States has a vital national interest in
maintaining robust polar icebreaking capability
to ensure “year-round Coast Guard presence in
these important waters.” In submitting its budget
request for fiscal year 2013, the Coast Guard noted “the criticality
of the Arctic as a strategic national priority, given the increasing
presence and interest by other nations, the preponderance of
natural resources … and increasing maritime commercial and
recreational activity.”
Frank Foti
With that growth, Foti said, “the need for additional U.S. icebreakers
will only grow. Better icebreaking capacity is critical to keeping all
those people safe and maintaining the nation’s ability to respond to
emergencies.” He added: “That capacity can only come from expanding
the American icebreaker fleet.”
The Polar Star (WAGB-10), which can break through ice up to 6
feet thick at a speed of three knots, will be joining the USCGC Healy, a
medium, or polar, icebreaker that made headlines last year creating a
path through Arctic waters for a Russian fuel tanker bringing heating
oil and gasoline to icebound Nome, Alaska. At 420 feet long and displacing
16,000 tons, the Healy is considered only a medium icebreaker
because it can only crack ice 4.5 feet thick at 3 knots. The Polar Star’s
sister ship, the Polar Sea (WAGB-11), which needs extensive engine
repair or replacement as well as upgrades, remains in Vigor Shipyards,
with its fate still undetermined. Both of the heavy icebreakers were
built by Lockheed Shipbuilding of Seattle in the late
1970s and both are well past their original service lifespan
of 30 years. Lockheed left the shipbuilding business
in the 1980s.
The Coast Guard plans to keep the refurbished Polar
Star in service until 2020, but notes that the need for
heavy icebreaking capability will continue for the foreseeable
future. The service, a unit of the Department of
Homeland Security, is now in the preliminary phase of a
new, heavy polar icebreaker acquisition project.
“We would like to have two heavy endurance ones
and one medium endurance [icebreaker] in the fleet,”
Admiral Robert J. Papp Jr., the Coast Guard commandant,
said last month at the Surface Navy Association’s 25th annual
symposium in Arlington, Va.
For years now, Papp has been making the case for at least one
additional heavy icebreaker and government reports and studies—
including a 2010 analysis by the Coast Guard—have recommended
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expanding the icebreaker fleet for national security, safety, scientific and
environmental reasons.
“Although polar ice is diminishing due to climate change,
observers generally expect that this development will not eliminate
the need for U.S. polar icebreakers and, in some respects, might
increase the mission demands for them,” a December 12, 2012 Congressional
Research Service report on Coast Guard polar icebreaker
modernization said.
Fiscal
Year
Cost
Category
FY2013
FY2014
Totals
($000s)
2014 Design $2,000 $1,000 $3,000
2015
Program
Management
System
Engineering &
Integration
Program
Management
$2,000 $2,000
$2,000 $2,000
$1,000 $1,000
Total $6,000 $2,000 $8,000
The Coast Guard is in the process of developing a formal mission
need statement, a concept of operations and an operational requirements
document for a detailed acquisition project plan. At least two
large shipbuilders in addition to Vigor are interested in building the
new heavy icebreaker—depending on what the Coast Guard has in
mind and whether it gets the funding from Congress in these times
of fiscal restraint.
Michael Carroll, vice president for operations at STX US Marine
in Houston, said his company has already had discussions with the
U.S. Coast Guard about the Polar Class 2 (heavy) ice breaker STX
Marine is building for Canada’s Coast Guard. “They’re interested in
our polar class vessel. We’ve done presentations for
them, showing our polar class icebreaker.”
Together with its Finnish partner Aker Arctic
Technologies—now part of STX Europe who have
built or been involved in the design of over 60 percent
of the world’s icebreakers. And Carroll thinks the
market won’t be drying up anytime soon—even with
climate change—“until it’s clear that icebreakers are
not needed.”
At Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII), which
now owns the Avondale Industries shipyard that built
the Healy, there is definite interest in the next heavy
icebreaker.
“The commandant says that’s something they’re going to continue
to make an investment in. It’s a unique ship. We have experience
in building icebreakers,” said Jim French, manager of HII’s
National Security Cutter program, which includes icebreakers.
The Polar Sea and Polar Star were both built back in the 1970s,
French noted, but the Healy was built in 1999, “so it’s much more
advanced in the technology that went into outfitting it.”
He noted that the Healy, even though it was designed as a
medium endurance cutter, could be modified for use as a heavy
icebreaker. “What we would do is simply look at what kinds of
changes you would have to do to the skantlings [the structural
strength of framing and structural supports like girders and I-beams]
and everything in order to reinforce the steel for breaking the heavier
RFI for Polar Icebreaker Replacement
The Coast Guard’s Polar Icebreaker Replacement Project Office
has issued a request for information as a means of market research
for (A) candidate heavy polar icebreaker designs and (B) U.S.
shipyards capable of building a heavy polar icebreaker. This RFI is
issued as a precursor to a potential polar non-nuclear icebreaker
procurement program and to initiate market research in assisting
the USCG in developing an acquisition strategy for new construction
of a potential non-nuclear heavy icebreakers.
At a minimum, a candidate heavy icebreaker design must be
able to perform the missions performed by the USCGC Polar Star. At
a continuous speed of 3 knots, the Polar Star can break ice 6 feet
thick, and by ramming, can break 21 feet pack ice.
Prospective shipyards and ice breaker design must be based
on: Information on candidate designs submitted must be based
on: Proven, currently in-service vessels that are capable of being
built in the U.S.; In-service vessel designs that are capable of
being licensed for building in the U.S.; Variants of in-service vessel
designs capable of being licensed in the U.S.; or For new designs or
new construction, also include details regarding its current status
and expected in-service date.
While the Coast Guard will accept candidate designs from both
domestic and international entities, the vessel must be able to be
licensed to be built in the U.S.
ice and, of course, you’d have to have a heavier propulsion system
to maintain the speed through the heavier ice. In their prime, both
the Polar Sea and Polar Star had more powerful engines than the
Healy.”
But that all depends on what the government decides to do,
he cautioned. “We will follow the developments as
it goes through the Coast Guard and Congress, and
if additional monies are funded, then HII would be
interested in following that development. And if an
RFP [request for proposals] is issued, we would be
interested in evaluating that, bidding on it and construction,”
French said.
In December, President Barack Obama signed into
law the Coast Guard authorization bill that bars the
decommissioning of the Polar Sea unless the Coast
Guard conducts a study showing that scrapping the
Michael Carroll vessel is the most cost-effective option for developing
a larger icebreaker fleet.
“Icebreakers are critical to our national security and America’s
interests in the Arctic,” said Senator Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.),
author of the Polar Sea amendment, adding: “As commerce in the
Arctic continues to increase, our nation’s need for icebreakers will
continue to grow.”
According to Cantwell’s office, refurbishing a large icebreaking
vessel like the Polar Sea can take roughly five years and employ
upwards of 300 workers. Building a new vessel can take eight to 10
years, employing more than 1,000 workers. O
For more information, contact Editor-In-Chief
Jeff McKaughan jeffm@kmimediagroup.com or
search our online archives for related stories at www.cgf-kmi.com.
www.CGF-kmi.com CGF 5.1 | 13

ON THE HORIZON
Support for
Carderock Division
Corrosion Teams
Science Applications International
Corporation (SAIC) has been awarded
a prime contract by the United States
Naval Surface Warfare Center Carderock
Division to provide logistics and program
management services for the Navy corrosion
control assistance teams (CCAT). The
single-award cost-plus-fixed-fee contract
has a one-year base period of performance,
two one-year options and a total contract
value of approximately $23 million, if all
options are exercised.
Under the contract, SAIC will provide
logistics and program management
services including labor, technical assistance,
training and process consumables
for the Navy CCAT. Tasks will also
include issuing government-owned tools
and process consumables and conducting
training.
“We look forward to fulfilling the
Navy’s need for technical expertise and
introducing new technology onboard U.S.
Navy and Coast Guard ships and boats,”
said JT Grumski, SAIC senior vice president
and business unit general manager.
New National Security Cutter Contracted
Huntington Ingalls Industries has been awarded a $487 million, fixed-price-incentive-fee
contract to its Ingalls Shipbuilding division to build the sixth national security cutter, Munro
(WMSL 755).
“Our Coast Guard customer continues to be extremely pleased with the performance of the
NSC, and this contract proves that,” said Jim French, Ingalls’ NSC program manager. “Our shipbuilders
continue to execute well on this contract, and the design/build plan is at a mature stage.
We currently have two more ships under construction and expect to start NSC 6 in October.”
NSCs, the flagships of the Coast Guard’s cutter fleet, were designed to replace the 378-foot
Hamilton-class high-endurance cutters, which entered service during the 1960s. Ingalls has
delivered the first three. The fourth, Hamilton (WMSL 753), currently at 40 percent complete, is
scheduled to launch this summer and will be christened in October.
Keel-laying for the fifth NSC, James (WMSL 754), is set for May 17. The ship is currently 17
percent complete and will launch in the spring of 2014. A long-lead material contract for Munro
was awarded in 2012, and all associated equipment has been ordered.
Ingalls builds,
integrates and
tests the NSC hull,
mechanical and
electrical systems,
while Lockheed
Martin provides the
command, control,
communications,
computers, intelligence,
surveillance
and reconnaissance
capabilities onboard
the cutters. [NSC
Stratton pictured]
HC-130H Flies with Avionics Upgrade
The Coast Guard recently completed a successful functional check flight
of an HC-130H aircraft enhanced with an advanced avionics upgrade from
Rockwell Collins under the Coast Guard’s Avionics 1 Upgrade program.
The flight marked the completion of a significant cockpit and avionics
upgrade managed by Rockwell Collins. The upgrade includes incorporation of
14 | CGF 5.1
four multi-function displays, a new digital autopilot, and a communications,
navigation and surveillance/air traffic management (CNS/ATM) equipment suite
for compliance with the latest airspace mandates. Rockwell Collins had previously
upgraded the Coast Guard’s HC-130H fleet with its new MultiScan hazard
detection weather radar.
“Rockwell Collins and the Coast Guard have developed a strong relationship
over the years and this most recent successful flight test adds another chapter
to that story,” said Troy Brunk, vice president and general manager of airborne
solutions for Rockwell Collins. “We’re continuing to add to our track record as
the leading provider of cost-effective C-130 avionics upgrades, having completed
more than 125 C-130 upgrades worldwide over the last decade.”
The upgrade reduces pilot workload while improving situational awareness
through enhanced CNS/ATM flight management capability, incorporating the
MultiScan system for aircrew situational awareness, as well as implementing
automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast, required navigation performance
area navigation functions with digital takeoff and landing data computations,
and providing key search and rescue patterns. In particular, aircrews will appreciate
the fully integrated Class III electronic flight bag with digital map overlays
on the cockpit’s new 6-by-8-inch multi-function displays.
www.CGF-kmi.com

Compiled by KMI Media Group staff
Contract Optioned
for Additional
HC-144A
The Coast Guard has exercised a contract
option to purchase the service’s 18th HC-144A
Ocean Sentry maritime patrol aircraft from
prime contractor EADS North America. The
HC-144A is based on the Airbus Military CN235
tactical airlifter. More than 230 CN235 aircraft
are currently being operated by 29 countries.
“Every HC-144A that enters the fleet expands
the service’s ability to meet its increasingly
demanding and diverse mission,” said Sean
O’Keefe, EADS North America chairman and
chief executive officer. “We’re proud to continue
to provide such a vital capability.”
The option is part of a contract awarded
to EADS North America in July 2010 for three
aircraft, plus options for up to six additional
aircraft. Under this contract, EADS North America
has already delivered three HC-144As—the 12th,
13th and 14th for the service—all on budget
and ahead of schedule. The 15th aircraft is due
for delivery the first half of 2013, while the 16th
and 17th will be delivered in early 2014. The 18th
aircraft is planned for delivery by the end of 2014.
The remaining options left on the contract,
for up to two additional aircraft, can be exercised
during 2014. Coast Guard plans call for
acquiring a total of 36 HC-144As.
With the ability to remain airborne for more
than 10 hours, the Ocean Sentry is performing
a wide range of missions for the Coast Guard,
including maritime patrol, drug and migrant
interdiction, disaster response, and search and
rescue. The HC-144A achieved initial operational
capability with the Coast Guard in 2008,
and today is operational from Coast Guard air
stations in Mobile, Ala., Cape Cod, Mass., and
Miami.
EADS North America delivers the HC-144A
equipped with search radar, electro-optical and
infrared cameras, an Automatic Identification
System for data collection from vessels at sea, and
a communications suite.
The Ocean Sentry’s rear cargo ramp enables
easy loading and unloading of the Coast Guard’s
palletized mission system. The mission system
can be removed for airlift, cargo and medevac
missions, freeing up the large cabin for additional
transport capacity. The rear ramp can be
opened in flight to deploy search-and-rescue
equipment.
Coast Guard FMS Program
VSE Corporation’s International Group has been awarded an indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity
contract to provide program and technical support services for security assistance projects administered by
the U.S. Coast Guard foreign military sales (FMS) Program. This single-award contract has a five-year period
of performance (base year plus four one-year options) and a ceiling in excess of $99 million.
Under this contract, VSE’s International Group will provide comprehensive program support, financial
analysis, engineering, industrial, technical, logistics and transportation, warehouse and supply, and
training support services for the purpose of acquiring, storing, reactivating, repairing, overhauling, refitting,
modifying, transporting and transferring ex-USCG cutters, boats and related materials to foreign maritime
services.
“We are very pleased to have been selected by Headquarters U.S. Coast Guard to provide support for the
maintenance, modification and transfer of USCG maritime assets around the world,” said International
Group President Harry Flammang. “From 1999-2007, VSE worked side-by-side with the USCG to successfully
transfer cutters and craft and provide follow-on support services. In that time, we successfully transferred 13
USCG cutters and 68 craft.”
Maurice “Mo” Gauthier, chief executive officer of VSE, commented, “The trust the Coast Guard has
placed in our ability to perform this complex work reflects across all of VSE and demonstrates the spirit, focus
and collaboration we practice every day with our customers. We are extremely proud to be selected for this
important Coast Guard program and to further expand our presence in the FMS marketplace.”
New Response Boat-Medium
The crew of Coast Guard Station Ponce de Leon Inlet in New Smyrna Beach, Fla., received a brand-new
high-tech boat with increased capabilities, enabling faster response times.
The 45-foot Response Boat-Medium (RB-M) is the first of its type at the station and will replace the
47-foot Motor Life Boat (MLB).
With a maximum speed of nearly 49 mph, the new boat is capable of traveling roughly 20 mph faster
than the MLB and can go into more shallow areas since its draft is 1 foot less than the older boat.
“The new boat is a great platform for conducting our missions, and with the increase of speed, it will
help in our response times and allow us to better serve the Daytona community,” said Master Chief Petty
Officer Michael Jensen, officer in charge of Station Ponce de Leon Inlet.
The crew will continue to use the MLB while getting acquainted with the new boat, a process that is
expected to take about two months. After the crew is fully qualified, the MLB will be transferred to a Coast
Guard station in the northeast.
The new RB-M is one of the Coast Guard’s newest boats and is equipped with state-of-the-art marine
technology that makes it a high performer. Its outfit includes an advanced electrical system, water jet
propulsion and integrated electronics that allow greater control from the pilothouse. Its increased capability
will enable the Coast Guard to respond to offshore missions more effectively.
www.CGF-kmi.com CGF 5.1 | 15

Requirements Balancer
Q&A
Meeting Current Missions While Preparing for the Future
Admiral Robert J. Papp Jr.
Commandant
U.S. Coast Guard
Admiral Robert J. Papp Jr. assumed the duties of the 24th
commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard on May 25, 2010. He leads
the largest component of the Department of Homeland Security
(DHS), comprised of 42,000 active duty, 8,200 Reserve, 8,000 civilian
and 31,000 volunteer auxiliarists.
As a flag officer, Papp served as commander, Coast Guard
Atlantic Area, where he was operational commander for all U.S.
Coast Guard missions within the eastern half of the world and
provided support to the Department of Defense; as the chief of
staff of the Coast Guard and commanding officer of Coast Guard
Headquarters; as commander, Ninth Coast Guard District, with
responsibilities for Coast Guard missions on the Great Lakes and
Northern Border; and as director of reserve and training where he
was responsible for managing and supporting 13,000 Coast Guard
Ready Reservists and all Coast Guard training centers.
Papp has served in six Coast Guard cutters, commanding four
of them: Red Beech, Papaw, Forward, and the training barque
Eagle. He also served as commander of a task unit during Operation
Able Manner off the coast of Haiti in 1994, enforcing United
Nations sanctions. Additionally, his task unit augmented U.S.
naval forces during Operation Uphold Democracy.
He is a 1975 graduate of the United States Coast Guard Academy.
Additionally, he holds a Master of Arts in national security
and strategic studies from the United States Naval War College
and a Master of Science in management from Salve Regina College.
Admiral Papp is the 13th Gold Ancient Mariner of the Coast
Guard. The Gold Ancient Mariner is an honorary position held by
an officer with over 10 years of cumulative sea duty who has held
the qualification as a cutterman longer than any other officer.
Q: The Coast Guard has always done what’s been asked. Is the
time right to have a conversation about the limits of Coast Guard
elasticity in performing its missions with aging assets and with a
budget that is, in most opinions, not keeping pace with requirements?
16 | CGF 5.1
A: I’ve been engaged in this conversation throughout my tenure
as commandant—how do we balance current operations [increasing]
against the need to build the future?
One of the many challenges the Coast Guard faces today is an
aging and obsolete fleet of cutters. As we continue in this difficult
fiscal climate, there is a temptation to “hold what you have” at the
expense of long-term readiness.
As commandant, my duty is to decide how to strike the right
balance between carrying out current operations and ensuring
readiness with the need to invest in our future capabilities to
meet the demands of the future. I also have a responsibility to
advise the Secretary of Homeland Security and Congress, who are
part of that decision-making process.
From an operational perspective, the Coast Guard’s most
pressing need is to invest in recapitalization of the offshore
cutter fleet. Given the condition of our fleet—many older than
45 years—we must continue to recapitalize cutters, boats and
aircraft.
Q: Moving forward, are you satisfied with the acquisition process
you have in place and the ability of the Coast Guard to
manage the progress, minimize the risks during development
and keep programs within budget parameters?
www.CGF-kmi.com

Recently returning from drydock repairs, the Polar Star continues to power through the ice while awaiting a replacement program to bring a new era of icebreaking to the Coast Guard. [Photo courtesy of
U.S. Coast Guard/by PA3 Andy Devilbiss]
A: Absolutely. We are committed to sound stewardship of the
taxpayers’ investment in the Coast Guard. Over the past decade
we have built a highly experienced, talented corps of acquisition
professionals who are successfully managing complex major
acquisitions to recapitalize our cutters, aircraft, boats and shore
infrastructure.
Today, they are among the very best in the federal government
for a service of our size, and we are increasingly serving as a model
for other agencies. I could not be more proud of these dedicated
professionals. Where appropriate, we have shifted to fixed-price
contracts for most of our major acquisition projects due to the
maturation of our acquisition processes and to better allocate programmatic
risk between the government and contractor.
We are also concentrating on acquiring state-of-the-market,
proven designs and technologies and leveraging work with industry,
the Navy and other government agencies to seek commonality
and interoperability where it makes best sense. The Coast Guard is
well aware of the challenges associated with carrying out a comprehensive
recapitalization program in the current and projected
fiscal environment. However, the need to recapitalize is more
urgent than ever, and I am confident we have the right priorities
going forward.
Q: Hurricane Sandy was a devastating storm on land. Tell me
about the damage to the aids to navigation systems and your
recovery efforts.
A: Coast Guardsmen did a superb job responding to a storm of
historic proportions, especially considering that many were victims
of the storm themselves. Sandy impacted hundreds of buoys
and lighthouses along the mid-Atlantic and New England coasts,
including the complete destruction of the Old Orchard Shoal
Lighthouse near Staten Island, and rendering the Coast Guard’s
aids to navigation base in Bayonne, N.J., nearly inoperable.
Our first priority after the storm—after conducting search
and rescue—was to restore the aids to navigation system as part
of a comprehensive plan for recovery of the maritime transportation
system. Because most commerce comes by sea and waterway,
re-opening ports and waterways to maritime traffic and ensuring
safe navigation was essential to restore delivery of fuel and other
commodities. Despite these and many other post-storm hardships,
aids to navigation teams and buoy tenders from as far away as
Chesapeake Bay and the Gulf of Mexico joined those in New York
and New England to ensure all critical aids to navigation in the
Ports of New York/New Jersey were watching properly just 48 hours
after the storm’s passing. Aids to navigation teams across the East
Coast contributed protective gear, hardware and small boats to the
massive recovery effort.
Meanwhile, we worked closely with the National Oceanographic
and Atmospheric Administration and others to survey the affected
waterways, identify and remove hazards to navigation, and restore
the waterways to full commercial operation.
Q: Turning back to Sandy for just a minute. How would you characterize
the ability of the Coast Guard to communicate with law
enforcement, firefighters and other responders during the crisis?
Did all of the systems work the way they were supposed to?
A: We suffered a diminished communications capacity due to
infrastructure damage. That, combined with persistent power outages,
made coordination of our wide-ranging efforts difficult. To
minimize the impact we deployed Coast Guard Cutter Spencer to
New York Harbor to act as a communications hub and relocated
some of our units.
For example, after significant damage to their facilities, Coast
Guard Station New York relocated their watch and some assets and
personnel to the Fire Department of New York’s Marine 9 station. My
sincere appreciation goes out to FDNY for being such great shipmates.
Q: Let’s talk ice. Coast Guard Cutter Healy was a good news story
as it led the way through the ice for a tanker to deliver muchneeded
oil to Nome, Alaska. Generally speaking, however, the
www.CGF-kmi.com CGF 5.1 | 17

Protecting the shores and inland waterways from national security threats, the Coast Guard also maintains recreational safety on those same waters. [Photo courtesy of U.S. Coast Guard/by Petty Officer
3rd Class Matthew S. Masaschi]
icebreaking news for the Coast Guard is not so rosy. Tell me what
the short-term plan and costs are to enhance your icebreaking
capability and what the long-term strategy is?
A: While the story might not be rosy, there’s reason for optimism.
I am confident about our current icebreaking capabilities and the
future plans to ensure adequate capabilities for U.S. icebreaking
needs.
In December, the cutter Polar Star completed a multi-year
rehabilitation at Vigor Shipyard in Seattle, is undergoing sea trials,
and will return to active service this year as the nation’s heavy
icebreaker. Polar Star will remain in service for the next seven to
10 years, along with Healy, as we continue work to build the next
generation of heavy icebreaker for the nation. Additionally, the
president’s FY13 budget calls for funding to begin the design of a
new polar icebreaker.
Q: Several months ago the Coast Guard conducted Arctic Shield
2012. What were the major takeaways and lessons learned from
the event?
A: For the past several summers, the Coast Guard has forwarddeployed
resources to Barrow, Alaska, and other sites in the Arctic
during periods of increased human activity to ensure maritime
safety, security and stewardship in the emerging maritime frontier
of the Arctic Ocean.
We continue to see increasing commerce, eco-tourism and oil
exploration activity, which bring attendant risks and demand for
Coast Guard operations. Due to the oil exploration activity in 2012
in the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas, we expanded our efforts with
Operation Arctic Shield 2012.
This marked the first time the Coast Guard has sustained
a multi-mission presence on the North Slope throughout the
Arctic maritime season, from July to November. The operation
helped to provide insights into four areas of interest as follows:
required mission activities for the Coast Guard in the northern
18 | CGF 5.1
Arctic region; capabilities [personnel, equipment and facilities]
necessary to plan, execute and support operations there; available
resources to mitigate mission and resource gaps; and preparation
of our service and Coast Guard personnel to safely and effectively
operate there.
Arctic Shield 2012 successfully overcame the inherent challenges
of the lack of physical and communications infrastructure,
long-range logistics chains and a severe operating environment
for personnel. Arctic Shield 2012 validated our operational proof
of concept: the use of the national security cutters as a mobile
command and control platform, essentially a floating Coast Guard
Sector, operation of seasonal forward operating locations for air
facilities, and deployable communications. We also reinforced the
importance of partnerships with tribal and state governments,
learning from the native peoples who have lived and worked in
this remote region for centuries. Lessons learned and the experience
gained during Arctic Shield 2012 will be applied to refine and
improve Coast Guard Arctic operations and presence for next year
and our long-term operations in the region.
Q: Does the requirement to be prepared for oil spills necessitate
a working relationship between the Coast Guard, the major oil
drillers, cleanup specialists and environmentalists?
A: The Coast Guard is the lead federal agency for directing pollution
response in the Coastal Zone. Effective execution of that
mission requires Coast Guard federal on-scene coordinators to
continuously and proactively engage all stakeholders, including
federal, state, local and tribal governments, the oil industry,
cleanup specialists and environmentalists at the port level. This
is a continuous preparedness process that includes planning,
exercise, response and evaluation to ensure readiness nationwide.
During an incident, the Coast Guard leads a unified response.
Our role is to ensure all involved are working together toward a
common objective, and to maintain close oversight of the responsible
party to ensure that the interests of the American people
www.CGF-kmi.com

Maritime safety is among the Coast Guard’s many top priority missions. Aids to navigation are critically important to safety, commerce and national security. The work is painstaking but absolutely
necessary. [Photo courtesy of U.S. Coast Guard]
come first. This is a proven process for oil spill preparedness and
response.
Q: Any possibility the Coast Guard will consider operating an
amphibious aircraft again?
A: We don’t currently have a requirement for amphibious aircraft.
The Coast Guard operated amphibious aircraft for many decades,
up until we decommissioned our last Sikorsky HH-3F Pelican
about 20 years ago.
While amphibious airplanes and helicopters were effective, our
other programs developed to the point where there was no need to
put the entire aircraft on the water for search and rescue. Deploying
from our helicopters, our rescue swimmers—aviation survival
technicians—are able to rescue mariners in distress more rapidly
and in much rougher conditions.
In addition, our skills in dropping search and rescue equipment,
such as dewatering pumps, to mariners is much more
advanced than it used to be.
Q: When government is looking for novel ways to be more efficient
and drive operating costs lower, could you ever foresee a
scenario by which the Coast Guard would take over maintenance
of NOAA aircraft to reduce the maintenance personnel and supply
chain for their fleet of about 13 aircraft?
A: We have done some depot-level maintenance for other departments
and agencies with similar airframes to create efficiencies
through cooperation, but there are currently no plans for the
Coast Guard to take over maintenance of NOAA aircraft. Coast
Guard maintenance is world class, so it’s understandable our
services may be in demand from others. We do a fantastic job of
professionally and efficiently maintaining our assets to ensure
peak readiness and affordably extend asset lifecycles.
The Coast Guard continues to work very closely with NOAA
in other ways to more efficiently serve the public. In January, we
invited NOAA officer candidates to the Coast Guard Academy to
train alongside Coast Guard officer candidates. Instilling the history
of our close partnership in our future leaders is a vision both
services share.
Q: On average, how is the Coast Guard doing on hitting its
recruitment and retention numbers? Are the ages spread out in
such a way that you will avoid a “graying” of the force and lose
too many skills at any one given period due to a large number
hitting retirement age at the same time?
A: The Coast Guard is on track to recruit approximately 1,500
people in 2013, which is a low number compared to prior years.
We are experiencing record-high retention rates within our military
workforce due to a number of external factors, and the Coast
Guard is looking forward to determine the best way to prevent a
stagnation in the workforce.
Recruiting is perpetually bringing in new personnel as others
leave. This constant flow reduces the potential for a “graying” of
the workforce. The Coast Guard is actively working toward further
development and employment of additional workforce-shaping
tools to properly and effectively manage the enlisted workforce.
Q: Any final thoughts on the men, women and mission of the
Coast Guard of 2013?
A: We carry out our missions in a very challenging and, at times,
unforgiving environment. Our continued success is only possible
because of the great men and women who continue to step forward
to serve—and we have the best!
As Coast Guardsmen, we are committed every day to protecting
those on the sea, protecting America from threats delivered by
sea, and protecting the sea itself. Despite the challenges we face,
I remain confident and optimistic about the future because of the
selfless service of our men and women, and the dedicated support
of families. Semper Paratus! O
www.CGF-kmi.com CGF 5.1 | 19

Precaution
is Key
Maintenance and certification of critical parts are key to the safety of life at sea.
By Michael Gabriel
Off-load marine hooks are found on
workboats and military vessels around the
world and are used to launch fast rescue
craft and other similar small manned boats
from the deck of a ship using a davit or
other similar launch and recovery system
(LARS). These hooks offer operators the
split-second release control often needed
at sea—including a self-locking feature,
which prevents release while under full
load.
When all applicable equipment is
in perfect working order, the nature of
launching a manned small vessel from a
larger vessel while at sea is a dangerous
task in and of itself, and has resulted in
many injuries and fatalities throughout
maritime history. If this critical piece of
load-bearing equipment is not kept in perfect
working order, it serves to significantly
increase the chances of an accident and
potential injuries or fatalities during the
launch and recovery process.
In January of 2011, Delta T Systems
Inc. officially took on the role of the United
States agent for Cranston Eagle (DBA
Eagle Products Ky), the Finland-based
manufacturer of one of the prominent
brands of marine off-load hooks. These
hooks are used by the United States and
Canadian navies and coast guards as well
as by many research vessels and offshore
platforms around the world.
As the director of the program for the
testing and certification of Eagle Products’
hooks, I have noticed an alarming trend
develop in the many hooks that I have
processed through our facility during my
tenure. The first and most disturbing trend
is the apparent lack of regard for the fiveyear
testing and recertification cycle—as
mandated by the International Maritime
Organization. More than half of the hooks
that I have seen come through our facility
for testing and recertification are grossly
out of date.
Although an out-of-date hook may look
fine on the outside, there may be issues
that cannot be seen but that may affect the
potential performance of this key piece of
critical load path safety equipment. Structural
issues such as microscopic cracking
or hidden wear on locking pins or other
critical parts, metallurgical issues such as
hydrogen embrittlement, as well as relentless
corrosion issues, each contribute to
hidden weakening of the hook. Particularly
troublesome are crevice corrosion and pitting
corrosion, which occur predominantly
on portions of the mounting bolts that are
hidden from view while the hook is in use
and create the potential for catastrophic
failure of the hook.
The second most alarming trend that
I have noted is improper hook maintenance.
Top on the list is the use of grease
to lubricate the working parts of the hook
such as the locking pin mechanism, the
positive lock, the latch and the rotating
hook part. Grease should never be used on
these hooks because of its tendency to collect
salt and particulate matter and become
dry and caked up within the workings of
the hook. Many of the hooks that I have
seen are gummed up with old grease to the
point where they are only marginally functional.
It is imperative that the locking pin
is able to move freely within its confines
in order for the hook to maintain the load
that it was designed to hold.
Moving down the list of maintenance
items, the lock pin spring and the latch
spring need to be changed on all Cranston
Eagle hooks every 30 months as
per the manufacturer’s requirements. It
is common for me to find tired, worn
and deformed springs that have not been
changed since the hook was originally
manufactured. A faulty or tired lock pin
spring can jeopardize the hook’s ability to
maintain the load that it was designed to
support if it does not fully push the locking
pin into place.
Other maintenance issues include frozen
or stiffly moving hook parts, substituted
sub-par non-OEM parts, highly
frayed and improperly tensioned release
cables, as well as structural damage to
the hook body itself. Although my personal
experience is limited to the Cranston
Eagle line of marine off-load hooks, it is
my understanding that this is an industry
trend which spans most of the marine
off-load hooks that are in use on today’s
vessels.
The solution is quite simply to keep
these hooks within certification and to follow
the correct maintenance procedures as
called out by the hook’s manufacturer and
the IMO. The first order of business for all
vessels that utilize these hooks should be
to perform an initial inspection of all hooks
within a fleet in order to ensure that they
are within their five-year certification date.
Once a fleet’s hooks are made safe, then
every effort should be made to keep them
on the list of critical maintenance items for
each vessel.
A call to action would be for the
responsible parties for all vessels that utilize
off-load hooks to inspect their hooks
immediately to make sure that they are
safe for use and within their five year certification
window. The stakes are too high to
overlook this critical piece of load-bearing
hardware. O
For more information, contact Editor-in-Chief
Jeff McKaughan jeffm@kmimediagroup.com
or search our online archives for related stories
at www.cgf-kmi.com.
20 | CGF 5.1
www.CGF-kmi.com

Maritime Domain Awareness
Maritime domain awareness requires end-to-end vigilance.
By Ned Lundquist
The U.S. Coast Guard is charged with
protecting the homeland and ensuring the
security of our harbors, ports and waterways.
But homeland defense does not begin at the
border. It begins far from home. Ensuring
secure port operations and vessel movements
at home begins not at the harbor entrance,
but at distant overseas ports of embarkation,
and includes a sophisticated network of systems
to track vessel movements at all times,
watchful for aberrant behavior abroad that
may become a problem in our own waters.
According to Commandant of the Coast
Guard Admiral Robert Papp, “The U.S. maritime
transportation system is comprised of
361 ports and thousands of miles of maritime
thoroughfares that support 95 percent of
U.S. foreign trade. Most of that trade is transported
on over 7,500 vessels that make more
than 60,000 visits to U.S. ports annually.”
“The entrances to our ports are wherever
the market begins. We have people stationed
around the world as part of that existential
metaphor,” said commander, Atlantic Area/
commander, Defense Force East, Vice Admiral
Robert Parker, USCG.
He said that homeland security starts far
from home. “People hear ‘Coast Guard’ and
wonder why we’re not on the coast. We are
much further forward than that.”
The Maritime Transportation Security
Act of 2002 mandates the USCG to assess
anti-terrorism measures in foreign ports. The
1974 International Convention for the Safety
of Life at Sea has been amended to include
new special measures to enhance maritime
safety. This included the International Ship
and Port Facilities Security (ISPS) Code, a
framework for stakeholders to assess and
manage risk regarding potential threats and
the vulnerability of ships and port infrastructure.
Today, the Coast Guard is conducting
port security assessments at ports all around
the world.
To ensure a ship arriving at a U.S. port
is safe and secure, it is important to know
that the factory where the container was
loaded, or the port where the ship departed,
is certified as in accordance with the highest
standards. The Coast Guard’s goal is to detect,
deter and defeat threats as early and distant
from U.S. interests as possible. That’s why
the U.S. works closely with other nations to
help deliver a mutually advantageous layered
security framework of MDA.
On one end of the spectrum is the shipment
of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the
Balhaf LNG terminal in Yemen to Boston,
Mass. This is example of an end-to-end security
protocol that ensures vessels and crew
are inspected, reliable and have not been
compromised in any way, and the ship is
monitored for every nautical mile of the transit
and escorted into port. This is not possible
for every international shipment by sea that
arrives in the U.S.
So how can we ensure the safety and
security of ship movements? Obviously there
are many international partners involved.
The ports of departure abroad must be in
compliance with the International Maritime
Organization’s ISPS Code. The Maritime
Transportation Security Act of 2002 requires
the Coast Guard to assess the anti-terrorism
measures of foreign ports involved in U.S.
trade, and the Coast Guard’s International
Port Security Program conducts periodic
visits to ports in about 150 countries to assess
compliance and verify that the ports have
effective anti-terrorism measures in place.
Parker said the three U.S. sea services
have an important partnership, and he lauded
the Coast Guard, Navy and Marine Corps men
and women who work together every day
around the world. Parker also stressed the
importance of relationships. Coast Guard law
enforcement detachments can embark on a
variety of vessels to exercise their authority
within U.S. jurisdiction, and work with other
coast guards to help them do their jobs.
“Canada is our closest partner. We don’t refer
to our ‘northern border,’ we call it our ‘shared
border,’” Parker said.
Parker said the combatant commanders
around the world want Coast Guard forces.
“There is always a significant demand signal
for what we do. It’s not just about capability
and capacity; it’s about authorities and jurisdiction.”
Rear Admiral Paul Zukunft, assistant
commandant for Marine Safety, Security, and
Stewardship, agreed with Parker about the
Coast Guard’s forward posture for maritime
security. “Transnational crime is agnostic to
boarders,” he said. “We have trade with 160
nations around the globe. Layered maritime
security starts in foreign ports. Maritime
security doesn’t start when a ship comes
under the Golden Gate Bridge.”
Knowing the local traffic conditions is
important. The Coast Guard uses the Vessel
Traffic Service (VTS) in a number of U.S.
ports, such as the busy Sabine-Neches Waterway
that runs between Louisiana and Texas
and serves the ports of Port Arthur, Beaumont,
and Orange, Texas. VTS informs the
Coast Guard and all the stakeholders on the
www.CGF-kmi.com CGF 5.1 | 21

waterway where traffic is and what it’s doing,
enhancing both safety and security.
Harbor Protection
Another recent example of Centre for
Maritime Research and Experimentation’s
[CMRE] progress in the field of maritime
security was the Harbor Protection Table-
Top Exercise (HPT2E) hosted at the Centre’s
OpenSea Tactical Theatre Simulator,
and sponsored by NATO’s Emerging Security
Challenges Division Defense Against Terrorism
program.
According to CMRE scientist Ron Kessel,
“HPT2E focused on the protection of military
forces, seaborne shipments, and critical civilian
infrastructure in ports and harbors during
times of high threat alert.”
HPT2E was an attacker versus defender
“gaming event” designed to help NATO navies
and coast guards better prepare for potential
threats. It used gaming technology to
improve advanced concepts of use for emerging
non-lethal response technologies against
non-cooperative small boats and underwater
intruders. Participants used computer models
of emerging non-lethal technologies in
realistic scenarios for determining if unauthorized
persons on the waterside in ports
(attackers or misguided innocent persons)
had hostile intent, justifying the escalation
of force when it is required (attackers only).
“Much of security is about risk reduction.
In this case, using non-lethal response
measures to reduce the risk to innocent
persons by winning their speedy compliance
in a security zone,” Kessel said, “in this way
making a clear distinction between persons
with benign or hostile intent, and justifying
the use of force against non-compliant people
when it is required.”
“HPT2E is a significant advance in tactical
gaming and it is the first time that serious
gaming is being used in the ‘Defense against
Terrorism’ program,” Kessel said. “People get
interested and focused on the scenario and
the mission, learning about the emerging
technologies, and controlling their platforms
and sensors and effectors for force protection.
We’ve demonstrated the role that serious
gaming can play in the capability-development
process.”
Vessel Tracking Service
“We monitor, inform, recommend and
direct the traffic on the water, and we contribute
to maritime domain awareness and
maritime security compliance,” said Mike
Measells, the Coast Guard’s civilian director
of VTS on the waterway. “VTS’s task is
to promote marine safety and security on
the waterway and to minimize and mitigate
waterway disruptions—whether the disruptions
occur from navigation safety incidents
or other threats.”
VTS uses AIS data and other information
to identify and track all vessels coming
and going in the port and adjoining water
way. AIS transponders—required on all ships
above 300 tons—transmit position, speed and
course, vessel’s name, dimensions and voyage
details. VTS also uses surveillance radars and
cameras to provide a complete picture.
VTS accomplishes the Coast Guard’s
safety mission by communicating and
coordinating with vessels, providing useful
navigation information, advising of channel
obstructions, de-conflicting traffic, and promoting
good order and predictability.
Sharing Data
Achieving MDA requires sharing data in
a transparent manner between stakeholders.
The automated information system, or AIS, is
a maritime version of the identification friend
or foe systems used to track aircraft movements.
AIS is now required on all vessels
300 tons and greater. The AIS transponder
provides information about the ship, course,
speed and destination. The transponder can
be queried by other ships, satellites or landbased
transceivers.
While the NATO center for CMRE in
La Spezia, Italy, is known for its research
in undersea warfare, it is now applying its
expertise to address challenges with a broader
maritime charter.
Karna Bryan, who leads the Maritime
Situational Awareness Project at CMRE, said
situational awareness involves using all available
data sources and tools to gain a greater
understanding of the maritime environment.
“Enhanced situational awareness uses a number
of different application areas at the same
time, including the use of appropriate sensors;
gathering and sharing data; and finding
ways for people to collaborate,” said Bryan.
“Our focus is to develop and take full
advantage of science and technology and our
expertise in this domain, then demonstrate
how new concepts and equipment performs
in the operational maritime environment,”
said CMRE Director Dr. Dirk Tielbuerger.
Bryan’s career at CMRE has focused on
developing warfare tactical decision aids. Her
team is currently looking at multi-sensor
data fusion from a number of different maritime
data sources. “Although AIS data provides
only a subset of cooperatively reporting
maritime traffic and thus needs to be verified
with other sources, it is nonetheless a rich
source of information about maritime traffic,”
Bryan said. “Satellite-based AIS is really
changing things because it gives us a whole
new source of unclassified and more easily
sharable data. We’ve been working with the
U.S. Coast Guard on a satellite-based AIS
feeds from multiple satellite providers. We’re
using ‘Bayesian’ techniques based on the data
from multiple sensors, so multiple satellites
can be collectively analyzed to better understand
the performance of each of the satellites
individually. We’re also looking at automated
data-driven techniques to extract maritime
routes which help people to identify anomalous
shipping activity working towards the
goal of finding the needle in the haystack.”
According to Bryan, the CMRE approach
utilizes AIS data, historical or real-time, and
is aimed at incrementally learning motion
patterns without any specific a priori contextual
description. The maritime traffic representation
underpins low likelihood behavior
detection and supports enhanced maritime
situational awareness by providing a characterization
of vessel traffic. Bryan said maritime
motion patterns can be “learned” using
unsupervised algorithms and is suitable to
historic or real time analysis.
“We have a framework we’re developing
called CoMSSoFT—which is Collaborative
Multi-Sensor Source Fusion and Tracking
Tool—which aims to provide common
standards for data fusion within a networkenabled
capability. The idea is to implement
‘fusion on demand,’ providing the ability to
combine multiple data sources in an ad-hoc
manner from multiple data providers.
But data sharing with sophisticated networks
can be vulnerable. Dr. Brett A. Sovereign,
a professor at the Coast Guard Academy,
an expert on cybersecurity and information
assurance. “Sharing technical information is
important, but we must ensure the network
will not be compromised.” O
Captain Edward Lundquist, U.S. Navy
(Ret.), is a science writer for MCR Federal
LLC in Arlington, Va.
For more information, contact Editor-in-Chief
Jeff McKaughan jeffm@kmimediagroup.com
or search our online archives for related stories
at www.cgf-kmi.com.
22 | CGF 5.1
www.CGF-kmi.com

Coast Guard
C4ISR
Technologies
The technological eyes and ears of the Coast Guard.
By Jeff Goldman, CGF Correspondent
Ongoing improvements in technology
are making it much easier than it used to
be for the U.S. Coast Guard to locate smaller
targets in open water. From enhanced imaging
and radar technologies to unmanned
aircraft and aerostats, several new solutions
are available to assist in tracking everything
from drug runners to boats in distress.
Lieutenant Commander Jeffrey B. Dorwart,
the U.S. Coast Guard’s avionics, sensors
and C4ISR program manager, said the
Coast Guard, which leverages radar, the AIS
(automatic identification system) and EO/
IR (electro-optical/infrared) turrets to detect
such targets, faces unique challenges both in
detecting small targets and in maintaining
track.
Environmental conditions,
Dorwart noted, can
affect the performance of
both radar and EO/IR. “The
performance of the IR portion
is directly related to the temperature
differential between
the target and the water column
the target is in,” he said.
“This means there is a lot of
variation between detection
performance day to day and in
different geographies.”
Most importantly, Dorwart said, while
the image quality of the Coast Guard’s current
EO/IR turrets is acceptable, it isn’t
close to state of the market due to budget
constraints. “This negatively impacts our
ability to identify items in the image that
may be useful knowledge to our boarding
teams such as weapons or sensors and antennas,”
he said. “It also impedes our ability to
positively identify small targets due to inadequate
resolution.”
Josh Howlett
In testimony before the U.S. Congress last
May, Coast Guard then-Deputy Commandant
for Mission Support Vice Admiral John Currier
(now vice commandant) explained, “The Coast
Guard’s ability to save lives, interdict drug
and alien smugglers, and protect our ports,
waterways and natural resources depends on
providing our highly trained people with a
modern, reliable fleet of vessels and aircraft,
equipped with effective command, control and
communications systems.”
360-Degree Infrared Imaging
One company that’s offering a solution
specifically designed to meet the challenges
of tracking in open water is HGH Infrared
Systems, which manufactures
the 360-degree Spynel-C infrared
imaging system. “Operationally,
we like to describe
ourselves most comparably to
what radar is trying to do by
continuously rotating around
and looking for threats in the
field of view … and along with
that comes the thermal imaging
component,” said HGH
sales manager Joshua Howlett.
“We produce a very highresolution
image of 12 megapixels … and
then we can zoom into sectors of that image
individually and simultaneously in as many
directions as we want, essentially creating a
solution that mimics multiple cameras—as
many cameras as you could imagine—looking
in every direction at once,” Howlett explained.
The system, Howlett said, is able to
detect a human at 3 kilometers on land or
1 kilometer in water. “We can detect a small
waterborne threat—a RIB or a wooden boat,
something radar doesn’t normally have much
success picking up—at 5 to 6 kilometers,” he
said. “And then a larger ship class—a commercial
ship, naval frigate—we can detect that
size threat at 12 kilometers.”
And Howlett said the system’s benefits in
a maritime environment are clear. “Our most
valuable position within the maritime world,
especially within Coast Guard or Navy operations,
is for anti-piracy missions—picking up
things that radar has a hard time doing, and
de-cluttering an environment,” he said. “In an
ocean, with waves and water moving around
in the environment, sometimes radar has a
hard time defeating that and figuring out what
is actually a real target, especially the small
threats in a pirate-type mission, and we’re
more effective there.”
The company soon plans to release its
Spynel-S, Howlett said, which will offer a
significant increase in performance levels.
“Instead of a 12-megapixel image, we’ll be
creating a 30-plus megapixel image,” he said.
“Our detection ranges are going to close to
double, so more in the 5- to 6-kilometer range
for a human on land, 10 kilometers for a small,
asymmetrical threat, and then 15, 20, 25 kilometers
for a larger vessel.”
The Right Radar Technology
Steve Marlow, vice president for surveillance
radar campaigns at Selex ES, said the
right radar technology can also be extremely
effective in a marine environment. While
traditional mechanically scanned (M-Scan)
radar often has trouble with high sea states,
Selex’s electronically scanned (E-Scan) radar
can solve that problem by revisiting the same
cell many times during a single dwell.
“The extremely fast revisit rate synthesized
by the E-Scan radar enables advanced ‘subclutter’
detection processing, meaning that the
target return can be more easily discriminated
www.CGF-kmi.com CGF 5.1 | 23

from the spiky sea clutter returns,” Marlow
said. “The result is a far superior small target
detection capability against a sea clutter
background—the benefit is equivalent to a
tenfold increase in sensitivity compared with
a traditional M-Scan radar—and it results in
a very clean display with strong returns from
even the smallest of targets.”
Marlow said Selex’s E-Scan radars are
also much more reliable than older M-Scan
radars. “Whereas traditional M-Scan radars
have achieved mean time between failures
[MTBF] measured in the 100 to 200 hours
range, E-Scan radars, with their radically different
federated, low-power, solid-state transmitters
mounted at the antenna face, deliver
MTBFs around the 2,000 hour mark,” he said.
“[In addition to] aligning much more closely
with the Coast Guard’s life-saving ethos, this
also has a very positive effect
on the support costs of the
system, and therefore significantly
reduces the through
life cost to the taxpayer.”
Selex ES offers a range
of three E-Scan surveillance
radars: the Seaspray 5000E,
7000E and 7500E. The three
systems share the same
modular E-Scan technology
and the same processing
unit, with different-sized
arrays offering a variety of performance levels.
“These systems have been very widely
adopted, since their introduction in 2005, on
fixed and rotary wing aircraft, unmanned air
systems and aerostats—including the U.S.
Coast Guard on their HC-130H fleet and the
U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agency
on their multi-role enforcement aircraft,”
Marlow said.
The U.S. Coast Guard’s deployment of
the Seaspray 7500E on its HC-130H fleet
has already saved several lives. As just one of
many examples, Marlow recalls that in September
2008, the Coast Guard successfully
located three people on an overturned 15-foot
boat in choppy waters 47 nautical miles
northwest of Puerto Plata in the Dominican
Republic. “Using the Selex ES radar system,
the HC-130H aircrew located the capsized
boat at 2:36 p.m. local time and vectored
a Coast Guard HH65C Dolphin helicopter
from Air Station Borinquen to the scene,”
Marlow said. “The aircrew was also able to
locate a Good Samaritan vessel, the cruise
ship Carnival Destiny, in the area and identify
it using the Automatic Identification System
integrated with the Selex ES radar.”
Steve Marlow
The Big Picture Delivering
Actionable Information
Esri has been deeply involved with the
USCG for over 10 years. “ArcGIS is the exclusive
choice for GIS across the USCG,” said
Mike Mastracci, Esri account manager, U.S.
Navy and Coast Guard. “The USCG has successfully
implemented an enterprise-level GIS
using ArcGIS, known as the EGIS, that provides
GIS data and geoprocessing services, as
well as providing a portal into services published
by other organizations such as NOAA
and the Navy. The Coast Guard is also looking
at integrating the EGIS into its other enterprise
systems, to support functions such as
asset and infrastructure management.”
The ArcGIS platform is designed to provide
an open architecture with a rich application
programmer interface
and complete set of software
developer kits (SDKs), all of
which are OGC compliant. An
SDK is available for every level
of the GIS enterprise, from
servers to desktop applications
to mobile devices. “This
enabled the USCG to specify
that any new map-based system
or application being built
must be developed using Arc-
GIS,” said Mastracci. “Legacy
C2 systems are being migrated to take advantage
of the robust and embeddable GIS toolset
available in ArcGIS, but there are significant
challenges because many of these systems
were not built to be OGC compliant or to
share GIS data through industry
standard interfaces.”
The real value of any system
is not only how much
information it provides but
how easily that information
can be accessed and utilized by
those at the very end at the tactical
level, for example during
a search and rescue (SAR) mission.
Many SAR cases begin
with a phone call about an
overdue vessel or a mishap at
sea, but many others along the coast of the
U.S. begin with a broken or unclear mayday
call from the vessel’s radio. These radio calls
are intercepted and analyzed by the Rescue-21
communications system, which uses ArcGIS
for its geographic calculations to determine
the position of the radio call. This last known
position is then passed on to the Search and
Rescue Optimal Planning System (SAROPS),
Scott Dann
a comprehensive search and rescue (SAR)
planning system built on ArcGIS which is
used in the planning and execution of almost
all SAR cases in and around the United States
and the Caribbean. The SAR controller, using
SAROPS, then develops a search area based
upon the information, estimates resource
availability and capability, promulgates the
search plan and deploys the resources. While
the assets are conducting a search, the SAR
controller begins the process again by gathering
additional information, developing a
subsequent search, deploying resources and
evaluating previous searches. This process
continues until the victims are found or the
search is reluctantly abandoned.
“SAROPS provides a tool that is fast, simple,
minimizes data entry and potential for
calculation error, can access high-resolution
GIS and environmental data, and can create
optimal search action plans that maximize the
probability of success,” explained Mastracci.
“SAROPS is used to prosecute hundreds of
SAR cases every year, and was also utilized
in the response to the Deepwater Horizon
explosion.”
The Benefits of
Unmanned Aircraft
While the Coast Guard is currently using
the Seaspray 7500E on its HC-130H manned
aircraft, the system can also be deployed on
unmanned aircraft—in May 2012, General
Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. (GA-ASI)
offered a live flight demonstration of its Predator
B unmanned aircraft system fitted with a
Selex Seaspray 7500E surveillance
radar.
GA-ASI’s “Guardian” is the
maritime variant of the Predator
B, and GA-ASI director of
strategic development Scott
Dann said its cost-effectiveness
is unmatched. “The manned
operations, like the P-3 or
the upcoming P-8 … are tremendously
expensive aircraft,
numbering up to hundreds of
millions of dollars per copy,
and they’re man-intensive,” Dann said. “We
have a Guardian aircraft for roughly $10 million
that’s unmanned and can fly out over the
ocean and essentially do the same mission.”
The fact that the Guardian aircraft is
unmanned, Dann said, offers several key benefits.
“Just due to the nature of the fact that
we’re remotely piloted, we have data links
that connect us to the aircraft—and you’re
24 | CGF 5.1
www.CGF-kmi.com

automatically on the network, so you get distribution
of data anywhere worldwide once it’s
down from the aircraft,” he said. “You’ve got
that connectivity built into the system, so you
can process, exploit and disseminate information
to multiple sites anywhere in the world.”
A single Guardian, Dann said, can scan a
wide area to locate a vessel, then fly to the target
and assess it more closely as needed. “You
have situational awareness of exactly what’s
happening,” he said. “You can see people on
board, you can read the name of the ship and
the numbers on the ship, you can determine
the status of what’s happening on the ship,
and then you can stay on station long enough
until they bring a manned aircraft or a boat
out, which could take many, many hours. Currently,
manned aircraft only have an endurance
of up to about four to eight hours on
station depending on the range, so a lot of
times when they get on station with manned
aircraft, they have to leave.”
Identifying Targets at Night
Dann said the Guardian can also beam
live video to the team that’s actually doing
the interdiction. “They’re actually able to see
exactly what’s [happening] on the ship—are
they gunning up, or are they leaving, or
is everything normal—and that saves lives,”
Dann said. “We’re also able to shine down
laser illuminators if it’s nighttime… so if our
interdiction agents are carrying night vision
goggles, they see like it’s daytime, and the
people that are being interdicted have no idea
that they’re in a big spotlight.”
One leading supplier of the night vision
technology that’s crucial for those types of
missions is ITT Exelis. “Our products are
equipped with Generation 3 image intensifier
tubes that provide the clearest, sharpest
image, therefore making it easier for the
user to identify specific targets in the night,”
said David Smith, vice president and general
manager of Exelis night vision business area.
“It also improves clarity and resolution, and
allows for a more seamless transition when
switching from low-light to high-light areas.”
The company also offers sensor fusion
night vision technology, a combination of
image intensification and thermal infrared
technology in a single compact goggle. “Our
enhanced night vision goggle, or ENVG, has
allowed operators to improve their situational
awareness by allowing them to identify heat
signatures of objects in the distance and then
identify targets with the image intensification,”
Smith said. “The combination of these
two night-vision technologies provides users
with greater situational awareness during a
challenging mission environment.”
And in October 2011, Smith said, Exelis
added a new line of products called i-Aware.
“Our i-Aware technology is a game-changing
technology for militaries and law enforcement
agencies that operate at night,” he said.
“I-Aware goggles maximize the user’s situational
awareness by importing and exporting
real-time video, photos, tactical intelligence
from a command center, UAV or ally in the
field. I-Aware NVGs are the ultimate solution
for force protection, mission execution and
information sharing across the battlefield.”
Minimizing Clutter,
Improving Contrast
Paul Jennison, vice president of sales and
new business development at L-3 Wescam,
said the key challenges in tracking smaller targets
in open water come down to the clutter
and poor contrast caused by
the surface of the water—but
he said those challenges can
actually be overcome in a relatively
straightforward manner.
“Target contrast is significantly
improved by switching
to the thermal sensor
as watercraft are generally
warmer than the surrounding
water,” Jennison said. “Image
contrast is helped by image
processing algorithms that
work to sharpen the image
and enhance contrast. Finally,
image blending, which is the
overlay of images from the
thermal and color sensors,
can be used to gain the benefit
of both the thermal and
color sensors in a single image
stream.”
For airborne surveillance
and reconnaissance, Jennison
said, L-3 Wescam’s MX-10, MX-15, MX-20 and
MX-25 surveillance turrets boast high definition
imaging sensors with exceptional visual
range performance. “The ability to detect,
recognize and identify targets from longer
standoff distances relative to our competitors
directly translates to reduced operating costs
for our customers,” he said.
The company’s MX-GEO software suite
also provides accurate geo-referencing for all
imagery. “This helps target detection and
tracking software applications distinguish
persistent target features from temporary
false alarms,” Jennison said. “Interruption and
resumption of scan patterns to view potential
targets at high magnification is also more
efficient.”
Leveraging Tethered Aerostats
Finally, in addition to both manned and
unmanned aircraft, tethered aerostats offer
another platform from which to perform surveillance
over a wide area, including in open
water. Craig Laws, U.S. Navy program manager
at Raven Aerostar, said his company’s
aerostats help to sidestep many of the visibility
issues caused by waves in high sea states. “An
aerostat is particularly useful if targets are
shielded by swells,” he said. “We can adjust
the altitude of the aerostat to compensate, to
see over those swells and improve the range.
In addition, the radar our subsidiary company,
Vista Research, has optimized for the aerostat
is very well-suited for that application: We are
constantly making improvements
in its detect rate and
range.”
Most importantly, Laws
said, aerostats are unmatched
in their persistence. “We can
fly for weeks at a time, mooring
periodically for helium topoffs,
sending them right back
up. Really, the only time you
would need to bring one down
Craig Laws
is for a helium top-off, to do
maintenance on a sensor or for
severe weather,” he said.
Laws said it’s important
to keep in mind that aerostats
aren’t limited to landbased
deployments; they can
be a perfect fit for a marine
environment. “You can take
the systems to sea—you really
just need a deck, or a place to
David Smith launch the aerostat. We had
an application with a research
team that utilized aerostats to monitor water
and weather data. The aerostats were placed
out in the Indian Ocean and left unattended
for weeks at a time,” he said. “The operators
would periodically go out on a boat, pull them
down, replace batteries, and put them right
back up.” O
For more information, contact Editor-in-Chief
Jeff McKaughan jeffm@kmimediagroup.com
or search our online archives for related stories
at www.cgf-kmi.com.
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Features
Maritime Displays
The maritime environment is hard on electronics. Panel displays and consoles
are designed for the rigors of at-sea deployments.
Port Security
U.S. ports represent direct points of entry into the country and require
screening and inspection technologies to keep them secure. There is also an
underwater threat to port infrastructure and shipping that must be considered.
Presence Afloat:
Offshore Patrol Cutters, National Security Cutters, and Response
Boats
Several key ship programs are important to the Coast Guard’s ability to
perform critical missions and meet operational standards. New technologies
make each of these platforms perfectly suited for their roles.
Budget Woes
Money is tight, but how much tighter can the Coast Guard be squeezed?
Top Contracts
A look at the Coast Guard’s top contracts awarded.
Special Section
IT Modernization
How can cloud computing benefit the Coast Guard
and how can cybersecurity efforts protect the
data?
Insertion Order Deadline: June 3, 2013 • Ad Materials Deadline: June 10, 2013
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INDUSTRY INTERVIEW U.S. Coast Guard Forum
William (Bill) E. Skinner
Chief Executive Officer
VT Halter Marine Shipyard
Bill Skinner has over 40 years of experience
in the shipbuilding industry. He
has been with VT Halter Marine Inc. since
October 2002, serving as COO from 2005-
2009 and now as the company’s CEO.
Skinner holds a Bachelor of Science in
management from the University of Mobile
and is a member of the Society of Naval
Architects and Marine Engineers, the
American Bureau of Shipping, the American
Welding Society, and the Propeller
Club of the United States.
Q: Can you tell us about VT Halter Marine?
A: VT Halter Marine is a mid-tier shipyard
with about 2,100 employees that has been
building ships along the Gulf Coast for over
50 years. In fact, the roots of the company
can be traced back to Higgins Industries
who built the famous Higgins boats of
WWII. That proud commitment to delivering
quality products that meet mission
requirements has endured as a hallmark of
the company.
Today, VT Halter Marine is actually
comprised of three shipyards located in Pascagoula,
Moss Point, and Escatawpa, Miss.
Q: What types of vessels do you build?
A: At VT Halter Marine, we can build just
about anything—from 112-foot offshore
articulated tug barges for New York-based
Bouchard Transportation Co. Inc. to 700-
foot RO-RO car carriers for Pasha Hawaii.
We do a lot of work with the U.S. Navy.
In March, we launched a new 253-foot Navy
T-AGS 66 oceanographic research vessel.
We are also building four fast missile craft
[FMC], also known as the Ambassador IV,
for the Egyptian Navy under a U.S. Navy
foreign military sale. Although it is only
210 feet long, the FMC can make 34-plus
knots and is equipped with potent offensive
and defensive weapons systems.
Q: Tell us about your decision to bid on
the U.S. Coast Guard’s offshore patrol
craft [OPC].
A: Our bid/no-bid decision was based on our
strong belief that we could deliver a winning
OPC design that would meet the operational
needs of the Coast Guard now and in the
future. We teamed with the premier French
ship designer DCNS.
We also brought in a team of Coast Guard
subject matter experts to help us refine the
design. We understand how important these
ships are to the Coast Guard’s recapitalization
effort. The Coast Guard badly needs to
replace the aging medium endurance cutters
with new, multi-mission ships that are
modern, capable and built to ABS standards
for safety, survivability and crew habitability.
Our OPC concept design is all of that and
more.
Q: I understand that you bid on the U.S.
Coast Guard’s fast response craft [FRC].
A: Yes. We put forward an excellent design,
but we weren’t selected. Still, it was good
experience for us.
By participating in the bid process for
the FRC, we learned a lot about the current
and future needs of the Coast Guard. We also
learned about the Coast Guard’s acquisition
process. All of those insights were applied to
our design effort for the OPC.
Q: What distinguishes VT Halter Marine
from its competitors?
A: That’s easy; it’s our people, our knowhow,
and our superior equipment and processes.
VT Halter Marine builds high-quality
marine vessels at affordable prices. That’s
what we do. Our location in the southeastern
United States affords us an abundance
of skilled labor at competitive rates.
We have coupled that experienced
workforce with state-of-the-art automated
equipment. We have a covered facility for
fabrication, and we are undergoing a significant
shipyard expansion project at the
Pascagoula facility.
In addition, a few years ago we implemented
a very successful quality assurance
program. These various improvements
have allowed us to enhance the quality of
our products while improving overall cost
containment.
Finally, we are a mid-tier yard, which
gives us a competitive advantage over the
larger yards. Our size allows us to be nimble
enough to tackle a variety of contracts
while remaining extremely competitive on
price. I like working at a mid-tier yard.
We are a tightknit group. We look
out for each other, and our people take
tremendous pride in delivering a quality
product.
Q: Are you concerned about the current
federal budget situation?
A: I think any CEO of a company that does
business with the U.S. government needs
to be aware of the budget environment in
Washington, D.C. Luckily, we have a fairly
diversified portfolio, so that helps.
But, I can certainly appreciate the
federal government’s want to get the most
bang for their buck. That has always
been the case, but it is magnified by the
current budget situation. I think that is
one of the reasons why firm fixed price
contracts are so attractive these days. At
VT Halter Marine, almost every job we
bid is fixed price. We are very comfortable
with operating on a fixed price structure.
So, besides producing quality ships, we
see ourselves as a safe bet for the federal
government and a terrific value for the
American taxpayer. O
28 | CGF 5.1
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