Page 42: of Marine News Magazine (November 2023)

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Feature

Shipyards

MARAD

T The VCM model, she added “created a highly competitive a and streamlined approach that can be used in the future by o other government entities to procure ships.”

Indeed, Linares said the government has a unique op- p portunity to review and ask, “What worked well, what d didn’t work so well and what are some ways that the VCM m model can be strengthened even further?”

She said there is already a shift in the federal shipbuild- i ing sector because of this initial VCM success. She called t this “a bold step” that minimized risk because of a solid d design and sticking to that design – “meaning,” she said, “ “don’t change design requirements during construction” – a and setting delivery and budget expectations. She added, “ “I think that there will be parts of government shipbuild- i ing that will struggle with ‘letting go’ a little, but we stand r ready to share our experiences.”

Linares said that MARAD has received inquiries from o other federal and state agencies about the VCM acquisi- t tion model. “This is a great time for us to share best prac- t tices,” she commented. More speci? cally, she noted that “Through the VCM model, we’ve learned a lot about U.S. shipbuilding capabilities and gaps.” – Laila Linares, NSMV Senior

Program Manager, MARAD

Empire State is the ? rst of ? ve new ships being built by Philly Shipyard under MARAD’s NSMV program. The vessels will be used to train cadets at the country’s state maritime academies.

MARAD 42 | MN November 2023