Birdon Adds Two to its US Board
shipyard. After his service, Rábago spent over 5 years in the private sector enabling small and large companies to do business with the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Coast Guard, and the Department of Defense. He worked closely with Bollinger Shipyards (Mississippi), formally “Halter Marine,” to design and build the USCG Polar Security Cutter. Bollinger is a key subcontractor for Birdon’s Waterways Commerce Cutter (WCC) Program contract. RADM Rábago’s extensive experience in the areas of Engineering, Acquisition and Logistics and impressive record of nationwide
McCreary Named President of Gulf Marine Repair
Richard McCreary was appointed president of Hendry Marine's Tampa, Fla. repair yard Gulf Marine Repair, effective January 31, 2022. He succeeds John Gallagher, who had served as president since 2019 and is retiring.McCreary comes to Gulf Marine Repair from Vigor Works, LLC, where he was vice president of business development. He has also held executive positions at BAE Systems, Marinette Marine Corporation, VT Halter Marine and other shipbuilders in a career spanning five decades.
US Shipyards: Always on the Job Hunt
300 new jobs in the process. In addition, one of Chouest’s shipbuilding facilities, Gulf Ship in Gulfport, Miss., is expanding and making facilities improvements to fulfill a new tugboats contract. This project will create more than 200 new jobs.Some 30 miles east, repair yard ST Engineering Halter Marine and Offshore is expanding in Pascagoula, Miss. through a $10 million corporate investment project that will create 100 jobs and add equipment, dock space, water depth and other upgrades to prepare the shipyard to handle larger ships and oil platforms.Eastern Shipbuilding Group says on its website
Halter Marine Partners with Local College to Launch Apprenticeship Program
Pascagoula, Miss. shipbuilder Halter Marine is creating jobs, and through its partnership with Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College (MGCCC), training the apprentices to fill them. The recently launched apprenticeship program is designed in three components: on-the-job training, classroom training and a progressive wage increase as participants reach set milestones. It offers training in the craft labor fields of welding, ship fitting, pipe fitting, pipe welding and electrical. With the exception of pipe welding, each of the apprenticeship programs is four years in length while pipe welding is
Socha Joins Conrad Shipyard’s Senior Management Team
.Socha has served in numerous roles of increasing responsibility with various companies in the offshore and inland marine transportation, shipbuilding, oil and gas exploration, and offshore engineering/construction industries. He was most recently senior vice president for business development at Halter Marine following previous roles at Mid-Gulf Shipping Co, Baker Marine Solutions, Bollinger Shipyards and Tidewater Marine. “[Socha] brings to our company 30-plus years of experience in sales and marketing in the marine industry, and he is a welcome addition to our company,” said Johnny
Merchent Named CEO of VT Halter Marine
ST Engineering North America, Inc. announced Monday that Robert "Bob" L. Merchent has been named President and CEO of VT Halter Marine, Inc. He replaces outgoing President and CEO, Ron Baczkowski.Much of Merchent's career was spent at Ingalls Shipbuilding, where he advanced through multiple positions of ever-increasing responsibility, leading programs critical to both the business and the U.S. Navy, culminating his career there as the Vice President, Surface Combatants, Fleet Services and U.S. Coast Guard Programs.Merchent has a Bachelor’s of Science in business management from the
STEHMO Investing $10 Mln, Adding 100 Jobs
Ship maintenance and repair company ST Engineering Halter Marine and Offshore, Inc., said it is investing $10 million to expand at its Pascagoula, Miss. site, adding 100 jobs in the process.STEHMO, along with its sister company VT Halter Marine, is growing as a result of recent market opportunities. The expansion will enable the company to perform new commercial repair work for larger ships and oil platforms that require greater size and lifting capacity. STEHMO is adding dock space and water depth adjacent to its Bayou Casotte site. The company also is investing in machinery, equipment and building
Younger Wins Engineering Award
Buck Younger, Vice President of Engineering with VT Halter Marine, was named the Marine Engineer/Naval Architect of the Year by the Mobile Area Council of Engineers (MACE). VT Halter Marine, Inc. (VT Halter Marine), is a company of ST Engineering North America. VT Halter Marine also sponsored the two MACE scholarship winners.In April 2019, VT Halter Marine announced that the U.S. Department of the Navy awarded the company as the prime contractor of a $745,940,860 fixed-price incentive-firm contract for the detail design and construction of the U.S. Coast Guard’s new Polar Security Cutter
VT Halter Marine Taps Baczkowski as CEO
Pascagoula, Miss. shipbuilder VT Halter Marine, Inc. announced it has appointed Ronald Baczkowski as president and CEO with immediate effect.Baczkowski joined the U.S. Marine Corps in 1980 and retired with the rank of Brigadier General in 2012. He had held various command and staff appointments directing high-level strategic initiatives with impact on tens of thousands of troops. He joined VT Systems in 2016 and was mostly recently Vice President of Business Development. Before that from 2013-2015, he was Chief Operating Officer of Angarai International Inc, a professional management consulting firm;
Landay Joins Gibbs & Cox Board of Directors
at the Harvard Business School. He was the 1998-1999 Navy Fellow in the Defense Systems Management College, Military Research Fellowship Program. He is a DoD level three certified acquisition professional and an expert in C4I Systems. Landay currently serves on the Board of Directors of VT Halter Marine and SAFE Boats International and is a senior Advisor at Avascent International and the Potomac Institute of Policy Studies
VT Halter Marine Names Socha Senior VP
U.S. shipbuilder VT Halter Marine, Inc., a subsidiary of Vision Technologies Systems, Inc. (VT Systems), has appointed Robert A. Socha as Senior Vice President of Business Development and Estimating, effective January 30, 2017. In his role, Socha is responsible for overall management and leadership of the company’s business development and estimating departments. He will work closely with other corporate functions, including departments of engineering, production control, production and purchasing departments to offer solutions from design services through build strategy and construction
Albert Takes the Helm at VT Halter
Paul J. Albert has been appointed as the President and CEO for VT Halter Marine, effective immediately. “Paul's proven leadership and operational skills in managing complex shipbuilding projects makes him the right choice to lead VT Halter Marine. We are confident in his ability to grow the company while maintaining its reputation as one of the most innovative shipbuilding companies in the United States,” said Admiral Bill Landay, Chairman of the VT Halter Marine Board. “We are excited to appoint Mr. Albert to this role and look forward to what his leadership will bring
VT Halter Wins VDOT Ferry Contract
The passenger vessel construction market remains one of the few maritime bright spots, as The Commonwealth of Virginia, Department of Transportation (VDOT) has awarded a contract to VT Halter Marine to design and build a 499-passenger/70-vehicle Jamestown Ferry to replace the current ferry, The Virginian. The ferry will be operated by the Jamestown-Scotland Ferry Operations Service which provides a critical transportation link between Virginia and North Carolina operating at the James City County at Glasshouse Point and Surry County at Scotland Wharf. Construction of the ferry is expected to
VT Halter Announces Leadership Promotions
VT Halter Marine, Inc., the Pascagoula, Miss. based shipbuilding subsidiary of Vision Technologies Systems, Inc., today announced several promotions within its leadership team. The shipbuilder named Richard A. Zubic (Rick Zubic) to Executive Vice President, Shipbuilding; Rob Mullins to Senior Vice President, Strategy and Estimating; Harry Bell to Vice President, Sales and Marketing; Pawan Agrawal to Vice President Repair; and Phil Adams joins the VT Halter Marine team as Senior Vice President. “These professionals bring a wealth of knowledge, experience and dedication to our
VT Halter Marine President Skinner Retires
VT Halter Marine, Inc. (VTHM), a company of Vision Technologies Systems, Inc. (VT Systems), announced a change of senior leadership. After more than 46 years in the shipbuilding business, including nearly two decades at VT Halter Marine, President and CEO Bill Skinner has announced his retirement. Skinner previously served as President, CEO and Director of ADDSCO Industries (1985-1989), the parent company of Alabama Maritime Corporation, where he also served as President (1982-1984) and as President of Alabama Shipyard, Inc. (1989-1997) following its acquisition by Atlantic Marine. &ld
The Landing School to Graduate 78 Students
at the University of Southern California and spent the next several years building custom wood yachts for Robinson Yachts and sailboat designer Bob Finch. In 1976, he developed the prototype for his first stepped-bottom hull. His professional boat design experience began in 1978 when he joined Halter Marine of New Orleans. While with Halter, the projects he worked on ranged from custom yachts and patrol boats to surface effect ships with Bell Aerospace. In 1981 Michael Peters Yacht Design, Inc. (MPYD) was established in Sarasota, Florida. Since then, 18 UIM Offshore World Championships and over
