You may have seen recently that Austal, a designer and manufacturer of high performance aluminium vessels including a number of vessels for the U.S. Navy, released this press release titled “Corrosion in Warships” addressing “galvanic corrosion” in the Littoral Combat Ship, USS Independence (LCS-2).  At the time I didn’t think much of it and, in fact, did not cover it here on gCaptain.  It wasn’t until someone passed along an article from Wired and read this article from Bloomberg that I understood the extent of the problem and Austal’s stance on the “aggressive corrosion” issues found on the U.S. Navy’s newest warship.

Read below on how the USS Independence just may be dissentegrating.  Literally.

Corrosion is a $23-billion-a-year problem in the equipment-heavy U.S. military. But Independence’s decay isn’t a case of mere oxidation, which can usually be prevented by careful maintenance and cleaning. No, the 418-foot-long warship is basically dissolving, due to one whopper of a design flaw.

There are technical terms for this kind of disintegration. Austal USA, Independence’s Alabama-based builder, calls it “galvanic corrosion.” Civilian scientists know it as “electrolysis.”It’s what occurs when “two dissimilar metals, after being in electrical contact with one another, corrode at different rates,” Austal explained in a statement.

“That suggests to me the metal is completely gone, not rusted,” naval analyst Raymond Pritchett wrote ofIndependence’s problem.

Independence’s corrosion is concentrated in her water jets — basically, shipboard versions of airplane engines — where steel “impeller housings” come in contact with the surrounding aluminum structure. Electrical charges possibly originating in the ship’s combat systems apparently sparked the electrolysis.

It’s not clear why Austal and the Navy didn’t see this coming. Austal has built hundreds of aluminum ferries for civilian customers. The Navy, for its part, has operated mixed aluminum-and-steel warships in the past.

But Independence — the Navy’s first triple-hull combatant — could be a special case for both the builder and the operator. For all Austal’s chops building civilian ferries, the Australian company is new to the warship business. Austal set up shop near Mobile in 1999. Today, the shipyard has contracts to build 10 LCS plus several catamaran transports for the Navy.

Keep reading at Wired.com

Despite these issues, Austal maintains “galvanic corrosion has not been a factor on any Austal built and fully maintained vessel, and our technical experts are eager to support any request to identify root causes of any corrosion issue in any aluminum naval vessel in service today.”  It will be interesting to see this story develop.

LCS-8 is the second ship awarded under the contract between Austal and the U.S. Navy, earmarking the construction of up to 10 ships at a total value in excess of US $3.5 billion.

Construction will commence in January 2012 at Austal’s shipyard in Mobile, Alabama, where construction on LCS 4 is already under way.  Over the course of the next 12 months, Austal will also begin construction of LCS 6, the first vessel awarded under the 10 ship LCS contract.  Once commissioned, the ships will join the Austal-built USS Independence (LCS 2), commissioned in 2010.

For the LCS program, Austal is teamed up with General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems, a business unit of General Dynamics. General Dynamics is the ship systems integrator, responsible for the design, integration and testing of the ship’s mission systems.

According to Austal, this 10-ship contract is to more than double its U.S. workforce to approximately 3,800 employees.

At Austal’s shipyard work is also underway on additional U.S. Navy and U.S. Army ships including Spearhead (Joint High Speed Vessel (JHSV) 1), scheduled for launch in mid 2011 and delivery in December 2011, and Vigilant (JHSV 2), scheduled for launch in late 2011 and delivery in mid 2012.  Work work is also said to begin on JHSVs 3, 4 and 5.

Pictured: The Navy’s first trimaran Littoral Combat Ship, the future USS Independence (LCS 2) courtesy Austal

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Navy has awarded a Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT]-led industry team $376 million to construct the nation’s seventh Littoral Combat Ship (LCS).

The fixed-price-incentive-fee contract provides funding for the second of 10 ships the Navy awarded to the Lockheed Martin team in December 2010. The contracts for the remaining eight ships will be awarded through 2015. Marinette Marine Corporation, a Fincantieri company, will construct the ships in Marinette, Wis., and naval architect Gibbs & Cox will provide engineering and design support.

“As the Lockheed Martin team constructs this next ship, we will remain focused on performance and cost,” said Joe North, vice president of Lockheed Martin’s Littoral Ship Systems business. “The Navy’s 10-ship award provides stability to this program, allowing industry to more efficiently meet the customer’s need for an affordable, multi-mission surface combatant.”

The Lockheed Martin industry team designed and constructed the nation’s first LCS, USS Freedom. USS Freedom was commissioned in 2008 and has sailed more than 50,000 nautical miles. Based at its homeport of San Diego, Calif., the ship completed a highly successful maiden deployment in 2010 and is now fully integrated into the fleet.

LCS 3, the Navy’s future USS Fort Worth and Lockheed Martin’s second LCS, is more than 85 percent complete and was christened and launched in December 2010 – a milestone reached just 20 months after contract award. The program remains on schedule and on budget for delivery to the Navy in 2012.

Headquartered in Bethesda, Md., Lockheed Martin is a global security company that employs about 132,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services. The Corporation’s 2010 sales from continuing operations were $45.8 billion.

Via Lockheed Martin

Rolls-Royce has announced it will supply gas turbines and waterjets for ten of the U.S. Navy’s Littoral Combat Ships (LCS) – the Group’s largest ever marine naval surface ship contract.

Designed to operate in combat zones close to the shore (littoral waters), each LCS will be equipped with two Rolls-Royce MT30 gas turbines powering four large waterjets, enabling the vessels to reach speeds in excess of 40 knots.  At 36 megawatts, the MT30 is the world’s most powerful marine gas turbine.  Combining this power with Rolls-Royce waterjets makes the LCS highly manoeuvrable, able to operate in shallow waters and to stop and accelerate quickly.

Rolls-Royce is already supplying propulsion equipment on the first two Lockheed Martin vessels and today’s announcement extends this with one firm order and options for a further nine ships of the same design.

Andrew Marsh, Rolls-Royce, President – Naval said: “We are delighted that the Lockheed Martin design has been selected for an additional ten vessels in the LCS programme. We have worked closely with Lockheed Martin and other partners throughout the design, build and sea trials of the first vessel, USS Freedom, and are making good progress on the second ship, Fort Worth, which is more than 80 percent complete and remains on cost and on schedule.”

“The Rolls-Royce equipment, including the MT30 gas turbines and waterjets, combine to give an effective and efficient propulsion system perfectly suited for these innovative, highly-manoeuvrable, state-of-the-art ships.”

The MT30 is derived from Rolls-Royce aero engine technology, building on over 45 million hours of operating experience and reliability.  It also has the highest power density of any marine gas turbine – a key factor in naval propulsion where delivering a high power output in a compact space is essential.  The MT30 is the latest development of Rolls-Royce marine gas turbines, and has also been selected for the UK Royal Navy’s new Queen Elizabeth class aircraft carriers and the U.S. Navy’s DDG-1000 Zumwalt class destroyer programme.

The waterjets are among the largest produced by Rolls-Royce and can pump water at a combined rate of 25,000 gallons per second – enough to fill an Olympic style swimming pool in 25 seconds.

In addition to gas turbines and waterjets, a significant range of Rolls-Royce equipment is specified in the Lockheed Martin design, including shaftlines, bearings and propulsion system software.

Source: Rolls Royce/Image Credit: Rolls Royce MT30 gas turbine (c) Rolls Royce

The Lockheed Martin-led industry team today launched the nation’s third Littoral Combat Ship (LCS), Fort Worth, at the Marinette Marine shipyard in Wisconsin.

The 389-foot Fort Worth was launched into the Menominee River. Just prior to its launch, the ship’s sponsor, Congresswoman Kay Granger of Texas, christened Fort Worth with the traditional smashing of a champagne bottle across the ship’s bow.

In March 2009, the U.S. Navy awarded the Lockheed Martin-led industry team a contract to construct Fort Worth. Only 20 months later, the ship is 80 percent complete. Now formally christened and launched, Fort Worth will continue to undergo outfitting and testing at Marinette Marine before delivery to the Navy in 2012.

“It is an incredibly rewarding experience to see Fort Worth launch into the water – on time and on budget,” said Orlando Carvalho, president of Lockheed Martin’s Mission Systems and Sensors business. “The team’s strong performance and hard work in bringing Fort Worth to this point illustrates our ability to meet the Navy’s need for a class of affordable, multi-mission combatants.”

Prior to constructing Fort Worth, the Lockheed Martin-led team designed and constructed the nation’s first LCS, USS Freedom, which was deployed in February 2010, two years ahead of schedule. Additionally, this summer the ship participated in the Rim of the Pacific Exercise 2010, where it interacted with international Navies and successfully completed a series of operational exercises, including a live-fire exercise with the MK-110 57mm gun, the launch of a Rolling Airframe Missile, and a maritime security exercise.

In addition to Marinette Marine Corporation, a Fincantieri company, the Lockheed Martin-led team for LCS 3 includes naval architect Gibbs & Cox as well as best-of-industry domestic and international companies.

Learn more about LCS 3 and view photos of the construction.

View public videos capturing the launch:

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UE4iiHQuF1k
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2csAeAWnqE0

[Source: Lockheed Martin]

Every year, Workboat magazine lists the top ten news stories of the year and this year, there were some obvious, some not so obvious, and some, well, let’s just say that’s not what we would have picked.

Ranking in at number one this year was the Deepwater Horizon disaster, with the resulting drilling moratorium at number two.  Other selections included the recession in the workboat industry, a sluggish year for boatbuilders, the ongoing asian carp crisis, TWIC and the NMC, the green revolution lead by FOSS Maritime, and the Duckboat.  Yes, the Duckboat.

But what are some stories that were left out?  The attack on the Jones Act?  The developments in offshore wind farms and the Cape Wind project?  Austal and Fincantieri’s winning bids on the 20 Littoral Combat Ships ordered by the U.S. Navy?  The single hull tanker ban in Korea?  China’s booming shipbuilding industry?  Noble Drilling’s acquisition of Frontier?  The new Coast Guard inspection requirement for vessels operating on inland waterways? How about the U.S.’s retreat from offshore drilling off the South Atlantic and eastern Gulf coast?

Read HERE for the full list provided by Workboat.com and let us know what you would include in the comments below.

This coming Saturday the U.S. Navy will be commissioning its first Littoral Combat Ship, USS Freedom (LCS-1), in a ceremony at Veterans Park in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.  Freedom is the first of ‘a new family of ships for the US Navy’.  The U.S. Department of Defense tells us in a press release:

A fast, agile, and high-technology surface combatant, Freedom will be a platform for launch and recovery of manned and unmanned vehicles. Its modular design will support interchangeable mission packages, allowing the ship to be reconfigured for antisubmarine warfare, mine warfare, or surface warfare missions on an as-needed basis. The LCS will be able to swap out mission packages pierside in a matter of days, adapting as the tactical situation demands. These ships will also feature advanced networking capability to share tactical information with other Navy aircraft, ships, submarines and joint units.

Freedom is an innovative combatant designed to operate quickly in shallow water environments to counter challenging threats in coastal regions, specifically mines, submarines and fast surface craft. The LCS is capable of speeds in excess of 40 knots and can operate in water less than 20 feet deep.

Freedom will be manned by one of two rotational crews, Blue and Gold, similar to the rotational crews assigned to Trident submarines. The crews will be augmented by one of three mission package crews during focused mission assignments. The Blue Crew commanding officer is Cmdr. Donald Gabrielson, a native of Hibbing, Minn. The Gold Crew commanding officer is Cmdr. Michael Doran, a native of Harrisonville, Mo.   Freedom will be homeported at Naval Station San Diego, Calif., as part of the Pacific Fleet.

Freedom, designed by Lockhead Martin, is one of two LCS ships being produced.  The other, USS Independence (LCS 2), was designed by by General Dynamics in competition with with the USS Freedom.  That ship is a trimaran design that is capable of over 40 knots.  Independence is said to be commissioned sometime in early 2009.

Now let’s take a look at some video…

Freedom (LCS 1) Sea Trials

Click here to view the embedded video.

Freedom (LCS 1) High Speed Trials

Click here to view the embedded video.

Additional Information:

Popular Science brings us Future Navy Ships – Littoral Combat Ship. They write:

This is a small, fast ship (capable of 45 knots) for sub-hunting, mine-clearing, and fighting small boats near coastlines—the littoral region. Each LCS would be equipped with one of three distinct mission modules: a set of plug-and-play ship sensors, missiles, small boats, unmanned underwater vehicles and specially equipped helicopters, for mine warfare, anti-submarine warfare or surface combat. The base configuration would include antimissile batteries and a medium-caliber gun. The ships could clear mines and chase subs away from an area before the rest of the fleet arrived.

Also included in the article are three other ships designed for future combat. You can view the full article with photos HERE.