HII’s Newport News Shipbuilding division is marking 140 years of service to the US today, January 28, 2026.On Jan. 28, 1886, Collis P. Huntington, a businessman whose investments enabled completion of the U.S. transcontinental railroad, turned his focus to shipbuilding, establishing what was first chartered as Chesapeake Dry Dock and Construction Co.
The military and Coast Guard budgets are established that will benefit the U.S. ship building and repair sector, but what will stimulate the commercial yards?This author has been scratching his head of late, after a thrilling dive into July’s U.S. Big Beautiful Bill Act, and has asked several colleagues where the funding for support commercial shipbuilding can be found? To answer that
[The following are exerpts and paraphrasing from testimony given by Matthew O. Paxton, President of the Shipbuilders Council of America (SCA), to Congress on the morning of February 26, 2025.]While maritime strength and shipbuilding historically have been a cornerstone of global power, shifting times and geopolitical pressures impact readiness and output.
Manson Construction has long been a pillar of the U.S. maritime industry, rooted in a tradition of U.S.-built, U.S.-owned, and U.S.-operated vessels. The company was founded in 1905 by Peter Manson, when he dug up a jar of gold coins [because he didn’t trust the banks] and purchased a winch, a winch that was then put on a barge and that became Manson's first pile driver.
HII announced that its Newport News Shipbuilding (NNS) division has successfully completed builder’s sea trials of John F. Kennedy (CVN 79), the second Gerald R. Ford-class nuclear-powered aircraft carrier.Kennedy returned to NNS after testing important ship systems and components at sea for the first time.The sea trials brought together NNS shipbuilders, John F.
Norwegian offshore vessel owner Eidesvik Offshore has secured a contract for its Viking Princess platform supply vessel (PSV).The contract has been signed with operators DNO Norge, Sval Energi, which is another DNO subsidiary, and Wellesley Petroleum covering a campaign with the Deepsea Yantai drilling rig.
HII announced that its Newport News Shipbuilding division has reached a significant construction milestone for Virginia-class submarine Oklahoma (SSN 802).Oklahoma is now “pressure hull complete,” which signifies all of the hull sections have joined to form a single, watertight unit.It is the 29th Virginia-class fast attack submarine, the first of Block V and the 14th to be delivered by NNS.
Fincantieri and Princess Cruises celebrated the delivery of Star Princess, the second LNG-powered (liquefied natural gas) cruise ship in Princess Cruises’ Sphere Class, at the Monfalcone shipyard.The ceremony was attended by Gus Antorcha, President of Princess Cruises, Mauro Bordin, President of the Regional Council of Friuli Venezia Giulia, Ester Fedullo, Prefect of the Province of Gorizia
American Cruise Lines christened American Patriot in Newport, Rhode Island last week—celebrating the holiday and simultaneously marking the countdown to the country’s 250th birthday on July 4, 2026. American Patriot is the first ship in the company’s new Patriot Class—a fleet of new 130-passenger ships designed for exclusively cruising the U.S.A.
TM Edison, a consortium of Belgian marine construction companies DEME and Jan De Nul, has installed the first two of a total 23 caissons in the Belgian North Sea, marking the start of construction for the Princess Elisabeth Island, the ‘world’s first’ artificial energy island.Caissons are concrete building blocks that form the outline of the future island.
Seas Geosciences has completed the conversion of the BOS Princess into a multipurpose geotechnical drilling vessel that is now ready to serve the global offshore energy industry.With its 80-metre length and close to 19-metre beam, the BOS Princess is equipped to support Seas’ geotechnical investigations.
Stephen O’Grady, of East Providence, Rhode Island, has been selected as the next deputy technical director for technical excellence at the Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC) Division Newport.Formerly the director of technology and strategy for the Undersea Warfare (USW) Combat Systems Department, O’Grady spearheaded the organization’s product vision.