U.S. buys more high-speed vessels - Navy News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Navy Times

U.S. buys more high-speed vessels

Two virtually unused high-speed ferries once planned for service in the Hawaiian Islands have been acquired by the federal government at apparently bargain-basement prices.

The two ships, named Alakai and Huakai, belonged to the now-defunct Hawaiian Superferries project once headed by Reagan-era Navy Secretary John Lehman.

The ships are the largest commercial vessels built by Austal USA which is one of two competitors bidding for the Navy’s Littoral Combat Ship program. Austal USA already is building as many as 10 Fortitude-class Joint High Speed Vessels, which are similar to the Superferries, for the Army and Navy. Austal specializes in the design and construction of all-aluminum, high-speed ships.

The Hawaii Superferries project collapsed in the face of locally-based protests that the ships would threaten the way of life in the islands. The initial service was between Oahu and Maui, and the company hoped to expand to Kauai and Hawaii islands. The Alakai arrived in the islands in mid-2007 but ran only a handful of voyages before being closed down by legal protests. The Huakai was completed in early 2009 just as the company suspended its attempts to operate and the ship never went to Hawaii. The Alakai soon returned to Mobile, where the ships were laid up, and in July 2009 both were abandoned.

But the federal government had backed the construction of the ships with a $150 million loan guarantee, and it was widely expected the ships would be acquired for use by the Navy, which has operated several similar ships. On April 6, 2009, during a press conference to accompany submission of the 2010 defense budget, Defense Secretary Robert Gates noted that, “to improve our inter-theater lift capacity, we will increase the charter of joint high-speed vessels from two to four until our own production program begins deliveries in 2011.” The two additional vessels were widely thought to be the former Hawaii Superferries.

The Alakai and Huakai were seized by U.S. Marshals and moved in mid-2009 to a lay-up berth in Norfolk, Va. To support relief efforts in Haiti, the Huakai was activated earlier this year under a government charter and, still wearing its incongruous and festive Superferry livery, carried supplies to the earthquake-stricken island.

The 373-foot-long ships can carry about 800 passengers and travel over 30 knots. Their vehicle and cargo decks have a capacity of about 25,000 square feet. The Huakai is fitted with a folding ramp that allows vehicles to drive on and off.

The ships were auctioned Sept. 30 by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. The Maritime Administration confirmed the sale but would not reveal the purchase price, although press reports indicate the ships were acquired for $25 million apiece. It is not known if there were any other serious bidders.

MARAD said the ships had been purchased with a credit bid, using the original $150 million guarantee the federal government already spent on the ships.

In response to queries, neither MARAD, nor the Military Sealift Command, which operates MARAD ships for the Navy, nor the Navy could say Oct. 13 exactly what use the ships would be put to under government orders.

Meanwhile, Austal USA’s JHSV program got a boost Oct. 12, when the Navy announced a total of $204.6 million in construction orders for the fourth and fifth ships. The yet-to-be-named JHSV 4 will be built for the Navy, while JHSV 5 is intended for Army use. Both ships should be delivered by the end of 2013.

Austal USA also is building its second LCS, the Coronado. The first Austal LCS, the Independence, was commissioned in January.

The company is in competition with Lockheed Martin to build as many as 51 more LCS ships. The Navy, which has put off a decision several times, expects to announce a winner before mid-December.