THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, July 13, 1996 TAG: 9607130185
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY CHRISTOPHER DINSMORE, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 52 lines
Newport News Shipbuilding said Friday it is still a contender to build fast frigates for the United Arab Emirates.
``We're very much in the running for that,'' said Bill Bell, the shipyard's director of international marketing.
Bell's comments came after reports that a Dutch shipyard already may have won the contract.
Royal Schelde of the Netherlands is saying that it won a contract in April to sell two aging warships to the U.A.E. That contract reportedly includes options to build up to six new frigates for the tiny, oil-rich Persian Gulf state.
Bell said his contacts in the U.A.E. told him that the options do not mean Royal Schelde will necessarily build any of the frigates.
``The U.A.E. still has a requirement for frigates; whether it's two, four, six or eight, I don't know,'' Bell said.
Bell said he will meet with U.A.E. officials next week to discuss the shipyard's frigate design, designated FF-21, or fast frigate for the 21st century.
A decision by the U.A.E. was first expected last year, but the process has become drawn out. Bell is hopeful a decision will be made by the end of 1996.
Building small warships for foreign militaries is a key element of Newport News Shipbuilding's diversification plan. The big shipyard, which employs 18,000 people, is trying to reduce its dependence on Navy shipbuilding.
Besides the U.A.E., the shipyard is also marketing the FF-21 to Norway, the Philippines, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Turkey, Bell said. None of those countries is as far along in the procurement process as the U.A.E.
The U.A.E. had originally disclosed plans to contract for the building of between four and eight of the ships, which would be the largest in its navy. A four-ship deal would be worth more than $2 billion to Newport News Shipbuilding, Bell said.
The shipyard has nearly $4.5 billion of orders on its books, including contracts for two aircraft carriers for the Navy and nine double-hulled petroleum product tankers for two commercial ship operators.
Many analysts and even the four competing international shipyards thought Newport News Shipbuilding took the inside track to build the frigates when it won a deal more than a year ago to help build and run a shipyard in the U.A.E.
That yard, Abu Dhabi Shipbuilding, began operation this week. It is overhauling six 45-meter patrol boats for the U.A.E. navy.
``The Dutch have, with this deal, they have caught up with us . . .,'' Bell said. ``We're probably neck and neck.'' ILLUSTRATION: Newport News Shipbuilding hopes international orders
for its fast frigate, the FF-21, above, will reduce the shipyard's
dependence on Navy contracts. by CNB