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MARPRO PROFILErelatively inefficient power plants. This tonnage will need tobe replaced over the next 5-10 years.” Clearly, Larson, likeother U.S. blue water builders, remains bullish on the marketsfor the near term.Despite all the good news, however, a key ‘knock’ on U.S.yards has always been that they cannot compete with foreignbuilders in terms of efficiency, costs and a raft of other metrics.Larson’s boss, Fred Harris, on the other hand, has alwaysbeen a big believer in emulating the Korean art of the seriesbuild technique. Larson shares his enthusiasm. “Over the pastseven years, NASSCO has learned a lot from our partnershipwith the expert shipbuilders at DSME and DSEC. As a resultwe’ve made several facility improvements, including anew blast and paint facility, usage of transporters and updatedground outfitting process lanes. We’ve seen a positive impactto both our commercial and government shipbuilding programs.”He continues, “A key metric we follow is completingthe design prior to starting construction. This becomes moreimportant when building a series of ships. A shipyard must getthe lead ship right or the impact of change will permeate negativelythroughout the entire class of vessels. Changes madeonce construction has started impacts the design and directlyaffects the supply chain, schedules and quality.”Larson, without neglecting his other responsibilities, clearlyhas a passion for the TOTE ship projects. That’s only natural,especially considering his affinity for LNG and the intendedpropulsion of this new class of vessel. He explained, “The TOTEships are 764-foot-long, 3,100 TEU LNG-powered container-NASSCO is arguably one the the nation’s more progressive shipyards,with a healthy Navy and Commerical orderbook, including pioneering workin building state-of-the-art LNG-powered tonnage.22 | Maritime Professional | 4Q 2013