Marinette, WI: Fincantieri Marinette Marine Shipbuilding

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A 1:52 video of the launching of the US Coast Guard Mackinaw.

 

MightyMac.org - The Mackinac Bridge & Straits of Mackinac posted
The christening and splash launch of WLBB 30, Coast Guard Cutter Mackinaw was 18 years ago today at Marinette Marine's Wisconsin shipyard. The photo here was taken from the Michigan side of the river. More photos:
 http://www.mightymac.org/mackinawlaunch3.htm
Nick Gilgenbach shared
Last ever side launch at Mmc is mid this month [Apr 2023].

Two of four photos posted by Sarter Marine Towing with the comment: "launch day." 

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A video of the Jan 19, 2020, launching

I learned about Marinette Marine from the following post. I already knew about Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding (FBS) on the east shore of Green Bay. It appears that this shipbuilding facility takes advantage of the St. Lawrence Seaway and builds Freedom-variant Littoral Combat Ships (LCS) for the US Navy. I remember watching a show on the Science Channel that these boats are designed for near-shore operations and that they can go fast. That is why they use jet propulsion. From my study of FBS, I know that Fincantieri is an Italian company. I wonder how many US Navy secrets are now known by Italy.

Jeff Griffith posted
It was my last couple of months before retirement from FEDEX in April of 2012, and I was fortunate to be present to watch as the USS Fort Worth enter the Menominee River via the 1st Street bridge. This was one of 4 prototypes of Littoral Combat Ships built by then Marinette Marine. It had just returned from a shake-down run on Green Bay. Notice the crowded bow full of contractors and press.
Mike Haase: Ships with no real purpose.
Steve Ebels: Mike Haase Except perhaps providing a distractionary target...
Mike Haase: Steve Ebels Maybe.
Bill McCall: Are they done building them in Marinette?
Brian R. Wroblewski: Bill McCall hopefully.
Ryan Chapman: They are being decommissioned and replaced. Horrible waste of tax dollars.
Aleck Green: Two of those in Escanaba now. Contractors are getting paid!!
Brian R. Wroblewski: She's already done for believe it or not.

Because Google's Sep 2020 software has made adding photos with captions so painful, I'm recording just the links of some LCS activity. 

• LCS15
• LCS21; the first three photos of this post are the LCS21 leaving for sea trials.
• LCS23 launch video
• LCS components coming to town
• an article about LCS 21 acceptance testing  the 11th built in Wisconsin, has several photos of high speed operations, more video of the launch
• video of LCS19 on trip from Narinette to Mayport, FL  another view starts at 6:36
• LCS09
• LCS21 is out of building 10
• LCS13 leaving for Jacksonville, FL
• LCS11 heading out for some testing; an earlier test
• LCS15 going through Lock 7 of the Welland Canal
• LCS23 launch video taken from one of he boats we see in other videos. Unfortunately, the phone wasn't turned horizontally.
• LCS21 during sea trials with photos taken from a boat
• LCS23 out of the building with boats fore and aft demonstrating the evil of holding a phone vertically
• LCS17 leaving town for Burns Harbor because it is going to be commissioned as the USS Indianapolis. Then it will go to Littoral Combat Ship Squadron Two in Jacksonville, FL.
• Moving LCS25 out of the building to the launch pad with nine self-propelled modular transporters.

I found some more links.

• A video of LCS23 being launched.
• LCS19 leaving town for the final time including a photo of it going past the drawbridge. One photo shows a lot of black smoke coming out of the exhaust. But later photos show it running clean.
• LCS21 also has a drawbridge shot.
• A video of LCS25 being launched.
• Some "mods" coming to town:1 and 2.

Twelve photos of ships docked at the shipyard and an old freighter that is docked on the Menominee, MI, side of the river.

I was thinking it was nice to see a Midwestern state getting some military money. But the LCS contract winds down in two years and the shipyard was facing a shutdown. But in May 2020, FMM was awarded a $5.5b Navy contract to build FFGX frigates. [GreenBayPressGazette, paycount]

Painting from FMM via GreenBayPressGazette, paycount

The design is based on the FREMM ship which Fincantieri has already built for the Italian and French navies. "The new frigate will be much larger than the LCS ships, at 496 feet in length, 65 feet across the beam and accommodating a crew of 200. It will be able to sustain speeds of up to 26 knots." Roughly 1,000 new workers will be added to the current work force of 2,500. There are also 200 Northeastern Wisconsin subcontractors that will benefit from the contract. The contract should ensure jobs for 20 more years. [GreenBayPressGazette]

A FREMM frigate via GreenBayPressGazette

I noticed that this government financed ship was also built in this shipyard.

Chris Mazzella posted three photos with the comment: "Coast Guard Cutter Spar on her first trip to Chequamegon Bay. Built in Marinette, WI in 2000 and spent the last 20 years based in Kodiak, Alaska. Last yr she sailed to Baltimore for a major overhaul and has switch places with the Coast Guard Cutter Alder and is now based in Duluth."

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MN C-Patch commented on Chris' post
Here is the USCGC Spar tied up at the US Naval Academy in early March after its refit at Curtis Bay in Baltimore and just before heading to Duluth. It's departure was delayed a few days due to a nasty Nor-Easter up along the New England coast.

 

I'm reminded that Fincantieri is an Italian company.

Ralph Muccilli posted, cropped
Got a Saltie in Port in Marinette WI. Supposed to be unloading ship parts from Italy I read. Got another ship anchored out in the bay off the mouth of the Menominee River but do not.know what ship it is...
[I have already noted Caroline because it has the pilothouse on the bow.]
Blake Biermann: Looks like the MV Caroline. Flagged in Antigua & Barbuda

Ralph commented on Blake's post
Yup. Forgot to add her name. Also a very interesting bridge/forward accomodations set up. I should have akso got a photo of her Port side to illustrate.
This is a stock photo that explained to me what looked like a weird configuration to the bridge.
It makes sense seeing the forward crane secured for transit.
[MarineTraffic]

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(new window)    And the YouTube AI offers more videos.

Robinson Micheal shared a YouTube link about the expansion for the frigate contract. and a YouTube link to the deputy program manager for LCS project. Mobile, AL, also builds these ships. Another clip about the frigate, I don't understand the jargon concerning the design.

A 0:53 video of the launch of Beloit (LCS 29). Skip to 0:25.

Gary Banks shared with the comment: "A new littoral combat ship was splashed today [May 7, 2022] in Marinette Wisconsin"

Gary Schweitzer: Just as the first few of the same class of ship are being decommissioned; how ironic is that.

Gerry Banks: Holly Marie side launches are pretty rare now.

Brian R. Wroblewski: Probably leave & go right to it's decommissioning ceremony like the rest of the class.

A 9:44 video about retiring 10 Freedom-class ships while building 6 more. The class has a gearbox design that doesn't work, a modular design that doesn't work, modules that don't work and a crew size that had to be increased. The 6 new ships are supposed to have a fixed gearbox and combat solutions proven by Great Britain. Building a ship with too many untested designs also doomed the Zumwalt class of destroyers to failure.

This is the 16th, and last, of the Freedom Class of Navy ships, which are already obsolete. And it is the last that is going to be launched sideways, which is good because they screwed up this one. The ship did hit the tugboat. Fortunately, the deckhands ran and then hung on and avoided injury.

safe_image for Launch of the Cleveland (LCS-31) A NEAR FATAL DISASTER!
lora jorgensen: A female friend of mine and a family member are deckhands on the Gaynor. They were on board for this launch. Both said that it was a terrifying experience and that there was a miscommunication with the shore crew…that they released the ship prematurely which created an extremely dangerous situation for the crew on the tug. I’m glad everyone was ok.

What's Going on With Shipping's 8:15 video about this launch

Jun 2023: Congress has agreed that the Navy can decommission all of the Littoral Combat Ships.  [video]

A 29:05 video summarizing the problems of the LCS program: "8 Things You Need to Know About the Navy’s Failed Multibillion-Dollar Littoral Combat Ship Program"

John Koster posted
North shore marine terminal Escanaba hauling a bow section of a LCS from sturgeon bay to marionette the part was 500 tons
Brady Cunningham: What for?
John Koster: Brady Cunningham LCS combat ships that there building at marinette.
[I hope this part is for the new class of ship that they are supposed to build. I just [Apr 2024] read that they are already behind on delivering that ship.]
Brian R. Wroblewski: When was this? Those ships are all fitting out now, unless this is for the Saudi version.
John Koster: Brian R. Wroblewski We hauled it in the first week of November.
[November makes more sense. It must have been for the last of the LCS disaster.]
Kevin Olds: It will be commissioned and immediately be decommissioned the Navy has given up on all LCS’s. What a waste of tax dollars.
The LCS’s area complete failure. Both versions. Political influence is causing the contract to be built out. Only for them to mothballed.
https://www.propublica.org/article/how-navy-spent-billions-littoral-combat-ship
Al Zuraski: It's the bow of a Frigate built in sturgeon bay going to Marinette to build a ship, green bay builds the upper structure all aluminum. Than all put together in Marinette.
Wait probably a nose to a Saudi ship, #3 of 4.
For sure no more LCS will be built.
3 shipyards work together now, nose in s.b., alumn. in g.b. rest in marin. put together in marinette.
Edward Belmore: Al Zuraski I think the frigates have been delayed 3 years last I read!
Al Zuraski: yes but they are working on them, i work there.
[Part of the blame for the delays is the Navy. They don't have the design complete before the shipyard starts building.]

Nate Price commented on John's post