Page 21: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (February 2023)

There are a number non-Navy government shipbuilding ef- forts underway.

• The Coast Guard also continues to build National Security

Cutters at Inglalls Shipbuilding in Mississippi and Fast Re- sponse Cutter at Bollinger in Louisiana.

• The ? rst four hulls of the new Offshore Patrol Cutter are being built at Eastern Shipbuilding in Florida, with the second group of hulls has been awarded to Austal USA in Alabama.

• Birdon America Inc. received a $1.187 Billion contract in

The Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer Carl 2022 to design and build 27 Waterways Commerce Cutters

Levin (DDG-120) was delivered to the Navy at General (WCC) for the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG). The WCC contract

Dynamics Bath Iron Works on Jan. 26th, 2023. includes two classes of ships: the River Buoy Tender (WLR)

GDBIW and the Inland Construction Tender (WLIC). Birdon is partner- ing with Bollinger and Incat Crowther. Bollinger will deliver the hulls to Birdon, with the production activity taking place at Bollinger’s Lockport,

Louisiana, shipyard.

• The Coast Guard and Navy’s integrated program of? ce awarded VT Halter Marine Inc., of Pascagoula, Mississippi, a ? xed price incentive (? rm) contract for the detail design and construction of the lead PSC. Construction is underway, with delivery scheduled for 2025. Bollinger acquired

VT Halter in November of 2022, with the shipyard now known as Bollinger Mississippi Shipbuilding.

• Another signi? cant government ship program in the National Security Multi-mission Vessel (NSMV) being built at the Philly Shipyard for the

Maritime Administration to support training at the state merchant marine academies. Steel was cut in January for the fourth NSMV, which is being built for Texas A&M Maritime University at Galveston.

• NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) is building two new oceanographic research ships, which will be named Ocean- ographer and Discoverer. The $178 million detailed design and construction contract was awarded by the Navy to Thoma-Sea Marine Con- structors, in Houma, Louisiana. Oceanographer is expected to deliver in 2025 and operate from Honolulu, Hawaii. Discoverer is expected to enter service in 2026 and will be homeported in Newport, Rhode Island. While Discoverer was initially intended replace NOAA’s Okeanos Explorer research ship, NOAA has since decided to keep Okeanos Explorer in service.

www.marinelink.com 21

MR #2 (18-33).indd 21 2/1/2023 3:31:29 PM