For Project America cruise ship efforts
NEW YORK, NY - The Maritime Port Council of Greater New York and Vicinity has jointly honored Philip Calian, Chief Executive Officer of American Classic Voyages Co. (AMCV), and Jerry St. Pé, Chief Operating Officer of Litton Ship Systems, with the Council's Man of the Year Management Award for 1999.
Calian and St. Pé were recently recognized for their roles in returning the construction of major, ocean-going passenger ships back to the United States for the first time in 40 years, and for growing the U.S.-flag cruise ship fleet through a program called "Project America." Litton Ingalls Shipbuilding, Pascagoula, Mississippi, is building two 1,900-passenger state-of-the-art cruise ships for AMCV in the Project America program, with an option for a third vessel. The new cruise ships will sail under AMCV's new brand United States Lines ®, one of the most storied names in the history of ocean-going passenger transportation.
The program, in which a contract was signed at the U.S. Capitol in March of this year, has a total potential value of $1.4 billion. Construction of the first ship will begin in mid-2000.
Jack Caffey, President of Maritime Port Council of Greater New York and Vicinity, which represents 88 unions with 500,000 members, said the Council hails the return of cruise ship construction to American yards, the expansion of the U.S.-flag ocean-going cruise ship fleet, and the creation of thousands of new American jobs. Ingalls delivered the last two American-built cruise ships in 1958.
Calian serves as Chief Executive Officer of American Classic Voyages Co., the largest owner and operator of U.S.-flag passenger vessels. In addition to United States Lines, AMCV also owns The Delta Queen Steamboat Co. and American Hawaii Cruises. In 2001, the company also will launch Delta Queen Coastal Cruises, which will offer cruise vacations on 226-passenger ships along the East and West Coasts of the United States, and to selected destinations in the Carribean and Mexico.
St. Pé, who served for almost 15 years as President of Litton Ingalls Shipbuilding, was recently named Chief Operating Officer of Litton Ship Systems, and Executive Vice President of Litton Industries.
The Litton Ship Systems (LSS) organization, which includes Ingalls and Litton Avondale Industries in metro New Orleans, Louisiana, has combined revenues of approximately $1.8 billion in the shipbuilding and ship modernization market. With its 17,000 employees, LSS is one of the nation's leading full service systems companies for the design, engineering, construction, and life cycle support of major combatant vessels for the U.S. Navy, international navies and commercial customers. Litton Industries, headquartered in Woodland Hills, California, is also a leader in worldwide technology markets for advanced defense, electronic and information systems.