Navy to Commission First LCS

The Navy’s first littoral combat ship (LCS) Freedom will be commissioned Nov. 8, 2008, during a 10 a.m. EST ceremony at Veterans Park, Milwaukee, Wis.

The commissioning ceremony will be highlighted by a time-honored Navy tradition when Smith gives the first order to “man our ship and bring her to life!” The name of the new ship acknowledges the enduring foundation of our nation and honors all American communities which bear the name Freedom to include towns in California, Indiana, Maine, New Hampshire, New York, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Wyoming. As the initial LCS, the 378-foot Freedom will be the first to carry this class designation. Freedom (LCS 1) is one of two LCS seaframes being produced. Independence (LCS 2) was christened by the Navy on Oct. 4, 2008. 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. 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.

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Yang Ming seeks closer ties with Cosco

Taiwan’s Yang Ming is planning to approach the mainland’s China Ocean Shipping (Group) Co (Cosco) for closer ties following the signing of an agreement between Beijing and Taipei to restore direct shipping links across the Taiwan Strait.

Yang Ming and Cosco are already operating joint services and capacity sharing under the CKYH Alliance, which includes besides Cosco and Yang Ming, Japan’s “K” Line and South Korea’s Hanjin Shipping. “We want to double the number of our operating offices on the mainland in the next few years from 20 now and our target is to double consolidate revenue in five years,” said Yang Ming chairman Frank Lu. Yang Ming Marine had consolidated sales of $4.07 bn last year. Direct shipping across the strait has been banned since the end of the civil war in 1949. Ships carrying goods between the mainland and the island now must now detour via Japan’s Ishigaki Island. Negotiators for the two sides have agreed to Taiwan opening 11 ports for direct cross-strait service and the mainland 63 ports. Companies plying the cross-strait routes would be exempted from business and income tax and allowed to open liaison offices on the other side, according to the agreement. Lu said Yang Ming and Cosco would share berths on both sides of the strait and in the long run they do not rule out the possibility of joint investment in port facilities. All ships registered in Taiwan, China and Hong Kong will be eligible to operate direct cross-strait services, according to the newly signed agreements.

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BLM lease sale rakes in $22.6m

The US Bureau of Land Management says it’s most recent sale of oil and gas leases in North and South Dakota and Montana totaled more than $22.6 million.

BLM officials say Contex Energy had the highest bid of Tuesday’s sale. The Dickinson Company bid $5.4 million for leasing rights on a 1600-acre parcel in Mountrail County. Contex Energy also had the highest per-acre bid of $3600 for a 1120-acre parcel in Mountrail County Of the 78 parcels offered, 17 were in Montana, 47 were in North Dakota and 16 were in South Dakota. BLM says all parcels got bids except one in South Dakota, said the Associated Press. Competitive oil and gas lease sales are conducted at the BLM’s Montana state office in Billings, Montana. Money from the sales is shared with states and counties. All leases are issued for a 10-year term.

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