U.S. maritime administration ushers in new contracts

Department of Transportation ships based in Charleston that help supply U.S. military forces in the combat theater will continue supporting the Department of Defense and other U.S. government agencies under new contracts announced July 28.

The Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration announced that its all-cargo fleet of 54 Ready Reserve Force ships will be maintained by nine American owned and operated ship management firms under a new set of contracts that have an estimated total value of $1.9 billion over 10 years.

“We have seen first hand that the Ready Reserve Force provides a vital link to the men and women of the armed services by carrying thousands of military vehicles, aircraft and other materiel to support operations in Afghanistan and Iraq,” says U.S. Transportation Secretary Norman Y. Mineta. “This is an extremely cost effective and well-run program that keeps us prepared to rapidly respond to the military’s needs.”

The RRF ships are kept in a high state of readiness at 15 ports located on the Atlantic, Pacific, and Gulf coasts of the United States. Some ships also are kept in a prepositioned status overseas.

There have been 91 activations of Ready Reserve Force Ships since December 2002. RRF ships have carried nearly 14,927,306 square feet of cargo—about 310 football fields of materiel.

The management firms are responsible for keeping the ships in a constant state of readiness and getting the ships fully crewed with U.S-citizen merchant mariners when an activation call goes out.

The Ready Reserve Force was established in 1976 and was significantly strengthened after the Gulf War in 1991 in order to ensure the military’s continued access to cargo capacity.

A list of contract awardees, contract values and ships under new contracts is available at https://voa.marad.dot.gov .

Law school to host first bioethics symposium

Students at the Charleston School of Law will host major speakers for the first day-long symposium on bioethics on Sept. 17 to examine whether doctors and lawyers speak the same language, whether the judicial system needs life support and more.

The symposium, which will start at 8:30 a.m. and ends at 4:15 p.m. at the school’s campus at 81 Mary Street, also will serve as a continuing education opportunity for legal and medical professionals.

Lawyers who attend the symposium, which costs $85 and includes lunch, will be able to receive 5.0 Continuing Legal Credits. The school is working on receiving Medical Continuing Education credits for medical professionals who attend.

The symposium, organized and hosted by students with the school’s Student Health Law and Bioethics Society, will feature five presentations.

For more information or to register, contact Kristin LeBlanc at 329-1000 or kleblanc@charlestonlaw.org.

Vought Aircraft Industries Inc. reports financial results

Vought Aircraft Industries Inc.’s net sales for the second quarter of 2005 were $357 million, an increase of 21% compared to $294.2 million in the same period a year ago. The increase in net sales is primarily due to increased delivery rates on commercial and military programs.

The net loss for the second quarter of 2005 was $109.1 million, compared to a net loss of $14.8 million for the same period last year. The net loss in the second quarter 2005 resulted primarily from increases in disruption and other transition costs associated with the ongoing process of facility consolidation and from a continuing investment in the Boeing 787 program.

For the first six months of 2005, net sales were $626.8 million, an increase of 6% compared to $589.1 million in the same six-month period a year ago. The increase in net sales is primarily due to increased delivery rates on commercial programs, partially offset by lower C-17 revenues.

The net loss for the first six months of 2005 was $158.9 million, compared to a net loss of $38.5 million for the same period last year. The higher net loss in 2005 resulted primarily from increases in disruption and other transition costs associated with the ongoing process of facility consolidation and from the continuing investment in the Boeing 787 program.

Vought Aircraft Industries Inc., headquartered in Dallas, designs and manufactures major airframe structures such as wings, fuselage subassemblies, empennages, nacelles and other components for prime manufacturers of aircraft.

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