Page 71: of Marine News Magazine (November 2022)
Great Workboats of 2022
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Cameron Ferries
The Louisiana Department of Transportation and De- velopment (DOTD) received an apparent low bid from
Houma, La. based Thoma-Sea Marine Constructors for the construction of two new ferry boats for the Cameron crossing in Cameron Parish. The bid was $49,706,865.
Construction of the two new ferries is expected to begin early next year with an estimated completion in mid-2025.
Designed by Elliott Bay Design Group, the new boats will be 190’ x 50’ x 13’ and will replace the M/V Cameron
II, which was built in 1964. The boats will be end-loading
Elliott Bay Design Group vessels in order to load and unload large commercial ve- hicles. Two boats will be built so that ferry service will con- two new vessels will use battery-powered electric thrust- tinue uninterrupted when one vessel undergoes required ers charged by diesel generators on board, and they can be dry docking as per U.S. Coast Guard regulations. The upgraded to fully electric in the future.
Offshore Patrol Cutters contract for detail design and long lead-time material for one OPC, with options for production of up to 10 addi- tional vessels. The deal could be worth up to $3.33 billion if all options are exercised.
Shortly after in July, Eastern Shipbuilding Group, based in Panama City, Fla., under contract to build the ? rst four
OPCs for stage one of the program, ? led a protest with the
Government Accountability Of? ce (GAO), citing unfair competitive advantage and con? ict. The group claims Aus- tal had access to non-public OPC information that gave it an advantage toward securing the highly-contested ship- building project.
Austal USA
With its protest now withdrawn, Eastern will reportedly
Mobile, Ala. shipbuilder Austal USA has been cleared to continue to pursue the issue in federal court as it proceeds begin the second stage of the U.S. Coast Guard’s (USCG) with its existing OPC program.
Heritage-class offshore patrol cutter (OPC) build program Austal USA, which recently opened a new $100 mil- following the withdrawal of an award protest ? led by an lion facility that gives it steel shipbuilding capabilities, unsuccessful bidder, the USCG said. is expected to start OPC construction in 2023. The ? rst
In June, Austal USA was awarded a $208.26 million Austal-built OPC will be named Pickering.
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