Page 32: of Marine News Magazine (February 2014)

Amidst all the talk of Beltway budget cutbacks and se- questration, the U.S. Coast Guard is quietly investing ap- proximately $30 billion in major acquisition projects to modernize its physical assets. The process of recapitaliz- ing these older and difÞ cult-to-maintain assets has never been an easy task, and the Coast Guard has seen its share of bumps along the way. For example, the initially messy Deepwater debacle initially kicked off what has evolved into todayÕs more successful recapitalization process, now run by the Coast GuardÕs Acquisition Directorate, which stood up in July 2007. Not all of that $30 billion in spending is allocated for boats, of course, but plenty is being spent today to replace outdated and inefÞ cient platforms that no longer meet the needs of a rapidly evolving Coast Guard. The Coast GuardÕs core mission capabilities arguably stem Þ rst from the readiness of their ß eets of cutters and boats, using a variety of waterborne platforms to conduct its daily busi- ness. All vessels under 65 feet in length are classiÞ ed as boats and usually operate near shore and on inland water- ways. A cutter is deÞ ned as any Coast Guard vessel 65 feet in length or greater, having adequate accommodations for crew to live on board. This month we highlight six differ- ent ongoing acquisition projects Ð including the 154 foot Fast Response Cutter Ð that are actively underway. A quick snapshot of those hulls is depicted in table 1.45? Response Boat Medium (RB-M)The 45-foot Response Boat-Medium (RB-M) boasts an improved design, new ergonomics, and enhanced safety features, making boat crews more effective in performing their multiple missions. The RB-M replaces the aging 41- foot and other non-standard utility boats which are at the end of their 25-year economic service life. The new boat boasts signiÞ cantly increased speed and performance, im- proved response time and agility. The boats also are de- signed with human factors systems engineering concepts in mind, decreasing crew fatigue on extended patrols. The RB-M has entered full-rate production, meaning that the service is delivering at least 30 boats per year, which is more than one boat every two weeks. Since the Þ rst RB-M was delivered to Station Little BOATBUILDING Table 1. ? USCG Buy Program 45?Response Boat ? Medium (RB-M)Long Range Interceptor (LRI II)32? Transport- able Security Boat (TPSB)29? Response Boat ? Small (RB-S II)26? Cutter Boat ? Over the Horizon IVWPC 154? SENTINEL CLASSOrdered FY13 41 (*)035226 Total Orders 170552992324 Delivered Totals 14415267108 Delivered FY13? 3213463 (+)4 (Numbers 5-6-7-8) BuilderMarinette Marine Corp.Metal Craft MarineKvichak MarineMetal Shark BoatsSafe Boat InternationalBollingerWhere Built Green Bay, WI/ Kent, WACape Vincent, NYSeattle, WAJeanerette, LAPort Orchard, WALockport, LA Replacing which hull? 41? Utility Boat (UTB)Does not replace an existing hull25? TPSB25? RB-SCB-OTH IIIWPB 110? ISLAND CLASSHow much did the boats cost? ~ 2.5M each~ 900K each~ 490K each~ 300K each~ 400K each$44 million each # to be Acquired? As required by missionAs required by missionAs required by missionAs required by missionAs required by mission58(*) 4 more have been ordered since then in FY14 / (+) 7 more have been delivered already in FY14) On Patrol: On Patrol: with the U.S. Coast Guard with the U.S. Coast Guard Building programs continue, spanning the full range of missions, despite budget concerns. By Joseph Keefe February 2014 32 MNMN FEB14 Layout 32-49.indd 32MN FEB14 Layout 32-49.indd 321/20/2014 10:17:52 AM1/20/2014 10:17:52 AM