About Marine
Marine news
- 2011
- 2010
- 2009
- 2008
- 2007
- 2006
- 2005
- 2004
- 2003
- 2002
- 2001
Products
Ship design & systems
Services
Working with our customers

Rolls-Royce overcomes Katrina to deliver propellers for newest and most advanced aircraft carrier

Friday, 2 December 2005

Pascagoula, MS - Despite the significant impact of Hurricane Katrina, Rolls-Royce has delivered the first of four propellers for the USS George H. W. Bush (CVN 77), the nation's newest and most advanced nuclear-powered aircraft carrier.

The 60,000 lb bronze propellers, 21 ft in diameter delivering in excess of 70,000 horsepower, are the largest ever machined by Rolls-Royce. The first of the four was cast and finished at the Rolls-Royce foundry in Pascagoula, Mississippi and transported overland to Northrop Grumman's Newport News Shipyard in Virginia.

Andy Marsh, President of Rolls-Royce US naval operations, said: "Our Pascagoula team performed a heroic job completing delivery for this major program, despite the impact of Katrina on our employees and facility."

USS George H. W. Bush (CVN 77), 1,092 feet long and with a displacement of over 97,000 tons, is under construction at the Newport News Shipyard.

All four high-tolerance five-blade fixed pitch propellers will be delivered to Newport News by year-end.

Hurricane Katrina caused major damage to the Rolls-Royce Propeller Center of Excellence facility in Pascagoula, MS and more than a dozen employees lost their homes. The company continues to work with affected employees to help get them back on their feet and the facility is now up-and-running.

Rolls-Royce delivers innovative, reliable and environmentally sensitive marine solutions to both the commercial and naval markets. From gas turbines and diesel engines to electrical generators and shiplifts, Rolls-Royce is the market leader for marine applications, providing a range of gas turbines and diesels that cover all power needs from 3 to 50 megawatts. More than 400 U.S. Government vessels (Navy, USCG, SOCOM) in service have Rolls-Royce marine equipment.

Annual sales in North America are more than $3 billion and the company's total U.S. investment stands at $1 billion and growing. U.S. interests hold more than 30 per cent of Rolls-Royce shares. More Rolls-Royce engines are built in the United States than anywhere else in the world.

Rolls-Royce operates in four global markets - civil aerospace, defense aerospace, marine and energy and is a major industry player in North America. The company employs some 8,000 people at more than 66 US locations in 26 states and seven sites in six Canadian provinces.

» Sign up to the RNS on your handheld device or mobile phone

» Sign up to get the latest news
delivered to your inbox