To no one’s surprise, Bollinger is competing for the Phase II Offshore Patrol Cutter Contract. Below is a press release I received today from the Company.
The country is really going need more shipyards capable of building warships. It would not be a bad thing for these Coast Guard contracts provide “trainer wheels” to prepare first Eastern and now a perhaps a second shipyard for even more complex projects. The newly expanded Bollinger might be able to replace now defunct Avondale shipyard.
Bollinger Submits Proposal for U.S. Coast Guard Heritage-class Offshore Patrol Cutter
- Bollinger Shipyards has the necessary management and production experience, engineering expertise, and facilities
- Proven record of success executing USCG Detail Design and Construction contracts
- Project would help sustain Bollinger’s seasoned workforce through 2031
LOCKPORT, La., — (June 11, 2021) – Bollinger Shipyards (“Bollinger”), a privately-held and leading designer and builder of steel military and commercial vessels, today submitted its proposal to the United States Coast Guard to build Stage 2 of the Heritage-class Offshore Patrol Cutter (OPC) program. If chosen, Bollinger would construct and deliver a total of 11 vessels to the U.S. Coast Guard over the next decade, helping to sustain the Bollinger workforce through 2031.
“Bollinger is the right shipyard at the right time to build the Offshore Patrol Cutter program for the U.S. Coast Guard.” said Ben Bordelon, Bollinger President and CEO. “Our long history building for the Coast Guard is unparalleled and has shown time and time again that Bollinger can successfully deliver the highest quality vessels on an aggressive production schedule.”
Bordelon continued, “Bollinger has the existing capability and capacity using our proven serial production build strategy and an experienced management team and workforce. Our production approach is based on our established and mature processes and tools, which integrate design development, production, and lifecycle considerations. Our unique experience results in a reliable production schedule and cost so that we can deliver high-quality vessels on time and on budget.”
Notably, in its current program for the U.S. Coast Guard, Bollinger has delivered Sentinel Class Fast Response Cutter hulls 1139 through 1144 a total of 127 days ahead of the contract schedule, despite the incredible challenges of the COVID-19 global pandemic and a historic hurricane season in the Gulf of Mexico impacting Louisiana’s coast.
Bollinger has a long history building for the U.S. Coast Guard, delivering 170 vessels in the last three decades alone. This includes the Island Class (49 delivered), the Marine Protector Class (77 delivered), and now the Sentinel Class (44 of 64 delivered to-date).
About the Offshore Patrol Cutter Program
Offshore Patrol Cutters (OPCs) will provide the majority of offshore presence for the Coast Guard’s cutter fleet, bridging the capabilities of the 418-foot national security cutters, which patrol the open ocean, and the Bollinger-built 154-foot fast response cutters, which serve closer to shore. The OPCs will conduct missions including law enforcement, drug and migrant interdiction, search and rescue, and other homeland security and defense operations. Each OPC will be capable of deploying independently or as part of task groups and serving as a mobile command and control platform for surge operations such as hurricane response, mass migration incidents and other events. The cutters will also support Arctic objectives by helping regulate and protect emerging commerce and energy exploration in Alaska.
About Bollinger Shipyards LLC
Bollinger Shipyards LLC (www.bollingershipyards.com) has a 75-year legacy as a leading designer and builder of high performance military patrol boats and salvage vessels, research vessels, ocean-going double hull barges, offshore oil field support vessels, tugboats, rigs, lift boats, inland waterways push boats, barges, and other steel and aluminum products from its new construction shipyards as part of the U. S. industrial base. Bollinger has 11 shipyards, all strategically located throughout Louisiana with direct access to the Gulf of Mexico, Mississippi River and the Intracoastal Waterway. Bollinger is the largest vessel repair company in the Gulf of Mexico region.
Chuck Hill's CG Blog 
i am jaded. hope they use more steel then they did with 110s. i admit to being jaded, loved my 110.but jesus spend a few bucks on steel uscg. and uscg, think about your next patrol boat. ifmyfo if you insist on getting rid of 87s. the 45s might be fine inshore. go off shore in gulf of maine. a 45 won’t do. yup. 20-30 footers, sucked on an 82. have fun rigging a tow. winter made it wicked fun.
We did have trouble with the 110s when they went to Alaska.
They were a British design, and relatively lightly built.
Huntington Ingalls also submitted a bid, as did Eastern. All 3 were expected to, and all 3 can claim some advantages: Eastern is finally getting into the flow, and therefore could arguably efficiently continue, though they have the least experience with Government work. Bollinger hasn’t built anything this large, though they have decades of Coast Guard experience, and Ingalls is wrapping up NSC work, so could transition well into the slightly smaller OPC.
The question is, is this a 3 horse race, or did Austal and some dark horse candidate (NASSCO or BIW) submit also?
Bollinger bought the existing contract for the first five Navajo-class ships, along with the ship yard currently building ships 1-thru 3 from Gulf Island Fabrication back in April, Thus they have more experience building this class of ship than anyone else.
Damn, sorry, I thought your comment was on the article about Austal getting a design contract for Navajo-class T-ATS ships.
It appears that Austal did indeed bid on OPC Stage 2, according to their September 15 press release about the new Austal USA president: “The company has submitted a bid to build the U.S. Coast Guard’s Offshore Patrol Cutter…”
I don’t recall this being confirmed in any prior news release. With their yard upgrades, I would think they’re pretty desperate to get some steel work in 2022.
Now we have a news release from Eastern Shipbuilding:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, June 24, 2021
EASTERN SHIPBUILDING GROUP AND BAYOU METAL SUPPLY SIGN EXCLUSIVE PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT IN SUPPORT OF THE OFFSHORE PATROL CUTTER PROGRAM
PANAMA CITY, FL – Today, Eastern Shipbuilding Group, Inc. (ESG) announced that the company has signed an exclusive partnership agreement with Louisiana’s Bayou Metal Supply to provide material and labor in support of the production of the United States Coast Guard Offshore Patrol Cutter (OPC) Program. ESG is the prime contractor of the OPC program and landed this exclusive materials and labor relationship to strengthen its bid for Stage II of the program which will be awarded in early 2022.
“As the prime contractor for the Offshore Patrol Cutter Program, we choose partners who offer superior product and labor to deliver industry leading vessels to the United States Coast Guard. Bayou has been a valued partner in the production of the OPCs and this exclusive agreement provides the United States Coast Guard a reliable supply and labor chain that will keep the program on budget and on schedule as we build future vessels. It’s a great partnership that will secure jobs in the Gulf Region and benefit our two states,” said Joey D’Isernia, President, Eastern Shipbuilding Group, Inc.
“Bayou Metal Supply is honored to partner with ESG to supply the Aluminum and Modular panels used in the construction of the OPC. With the agreement, we (Bayou) were able to apply our Advanced Manufacturing practices to provide superior quality Aluminum panels to the project. Our talented, dedicated and focused workforce in Louisiana & Mississippi are working closely with ESG to provide the Best Superstructure to ESG and the United States Coast Guard,” said Christopher Fernandez, Owner, Bayou Metal Supply.
ESG awarded Bayou Metal Supply a contract in 2019 to provide material and labor to cut and fabricate aluminum superstructure subassembly panels for the OPCs. The panels are then assembled by ESG into units that are erected onto the ship by ESG production crews. This exclusive partnership provides materials and labor needed to expedite the construction of future vessels and supports ESG’s ability to increase production rate to multiple vessels per year.
Bayou’s highly specialized aluminum fabrication facilities improve fabrication costs, quality, and throughput. The agreement includes the ability to router cut aluminum and utilize friction stir welding techniques in fully enclosed fabrication facilities. ESG has on-site QA personnel at the Bayou facility to ensure seamless integration and quality. The geographically separate workforce allows ESG to tap into another labor market and execute core ship construction capabilities with greater efficiency while expanding the job market potential throughout the Gulf Region.