Bollinger wins $142M contract to build Coast Guard patrol boats

The following is the text of a press release issued by Bollinger Shipyards Inc.:
 
(LOCKPORT, La.) — Bollinger Shipyards, Inc. announced today that it was awarded a contract valued at over $142,000,000 to build an additional three SENTINEL Class, 154 foot patrol boats, for the U. S. Coast Guard.
 
The initial contract for the design and construction of the lead ship in the class was awarded to Bollinger in September 2008. Under the current contract options, the Coast Guard can buy up to thirty-four patrol boats with Bollinger for a total value of over $1.6 Billion. The SENTINEL Class cutters will replace the 110 foot ISLAND Class that Bollinger built in the 1980’s.
 
Chris Bollinger, Executive Vice President of New Construction for Bollinger Shipyards said, “We are very pleased with this award and very proud to continue to build patrol boats for the Coast Guard.â€
 
Bollinger has built every patrol boat in the U. S. Coast Guard’s fleet. This award will increase the total number of Coast Guard patrol boats that Bollinger has built to one hundred and twenty six in the last quarter century.
 
“This is really a tribute to our design team and our shipyard workers who have proven themselves to be the best. These new cutters will provide the Coast Guard with more capability than the Coast Guard has ever had, and they need the best to perform their missionsâ€, said Bollinger.
 
Vessels are scheduled to be built at Bollinger’s Lockport, Louisiana facility. The cutters will have a top speed over twenty-eight knots and will be able to perform seven day patrols with their crew of twenty-two. The cutter will also have a 40 knot rigid inflatable boat, RIB, that can be rapidly deployed using an innovative stern launching system that was first presented to the Coast Guard by Bollinger aboard the 87 foot MARINE PROTECTOR class cutters.
Bollinger Shipyards, Inc., (www.bollingershipyards.com) owns and operates 12 shipyards strategically located between New Orleans and Houston with direct access to the Gulf of Mexico, Mississippi River and Intracoastal Waterway. Bollinger is a leading provider of new construction and other services to offshore energy, commercial and government marine markets and is the largest vessel repair/conversion company in the Gulf of Mexico region with a total of 32 dry-docks in Louisiana and Texas.
By Professional Mariner Staff