Ryan Erickson has published the Arctic SAR boundaries on the Naval Institute Blog. Looking at this chart got me thinking about ice capable ships. That of course lead to looking for similar information on Antarctica, so this is going to be a survey of What nations are interested in the Polar regions? and What do their ice capable fleets look like?
The following is based on information from someone I believe to be a reliable source. To my knowledge there has been no official announcement.
The Coast Guard is expected to exercise an option for four more Webber class soon, probably this week. This contract will be FY2011 money and will bring the total under contract to twelve.
Out of a projected requirement for 58 Fast Response Cutters (FRCs), the current contract with Bollinger included options that allowed for construction of up to 34 vessels–a prototype, three low rate initial production examples, and five options of up to six each. The Coast Guard will be exercising its second “full production rate” option. Because funding was only provided for four vessels for this and the previous option, the maximum that can be built under the existing contract will be 30 vessels.
The number of vessels to be funded in FY2012 is still to be determined. Six ships still seems most likely, but going with four rather than six would further reduce the maximum under the current contract to 28. Presumably that would put the project another four months behind.
The FY2012 budget is also expected to include funds for CG to purchase the complete design data package and design rights as provided for in the existing contract. This would allow the Webber Class design to be bid competitively as discussed earlier. Right now alternative designs appear unlikely assuming sea trials in Oct/Nov go as expected.
The costs for the actual ship building have been very stable since contract award (within one percent). Money appropriated for the project includes supporting infrastructure costs as well as the actually ship building. There does seem to have been an increase in these additional infrastructure costs.
The New London Day reports that US News once again picked the Coast Guard Academy as the top “Regional College” for the “North.” There is a more complete listing of the survey results and some additional explanation from US News here.
The Navy Time has published an wide ranging interview with Admiral Papp that you can access here.
The 2011 Coast Guard Innovation Expo is scheduled for October 25-27 in Tampa, Florida. If you would like to have a look, but can’t get to the event they have a facebook page that promises to allow “virtual attendance.”
Eaglespeak points out the Philippines’ President has announced the formation of a “National Coast Watch,” expanding an earlier program that covered the Southern approaches. More here.
Defense Industry daily has published what appears to be a balanced and comprehensive review of the National Security Cutter program. You can check it out here.
Coulton Company’s Maritime Memos brought to my attention that the Coast Guard is looking at the possibility of constructing future FRCs at yards other than Bollinger. They have issued an Request For Information (RFI).
“Background: The Fast Response Cutter (FRC)/SENTINEL Class Phase I contract was awarded in September 2008 to Bollinger Shipyards Incorporated for a lead ship and up to 33 additional hulls. The U.S. Coast Guard is currently conducting market research for the FRC/SENTINEL Class re-procurement. The FRC/SENTINEL Class Phase II acquisition will complete the fleet of 58 cutters by acquiring additional hulls.
“Objective: The U.S. Coast Guard invites U.S. shipyards to participate in one-on-one meetings with the FRC Project Manager and staff (FAR 15.201(c)(4)). At this time, the U.S. Coast Guard is interested in meeting only with U.S. shipyards that have the organic capability to design and construct cutters of the FRC’s complexity as described in the U.S. Coast Guard’s 2007 Request for Proposal (RFP): (http://www.uscg.mil/acquisition/sentinel/pdf/frcbrfp.pdf).
“These meetings will be held in the Washington, DC area and are tentatively planned to begin on October 11, 2011. The U.S. Coast Guard will brief all potential offerors on the current status of the reprocurement, to include the FRC’s existing operational requirements and the potential acquisition strategies under consideration for the Phase II reprocurement.”
This could go in at least two different directions.
The Coast Guard has options with Bollinger for additional cutters up to a total of 34, but they are not contractually committed to continue exclusively with Bollinger. Since Bollinger is under contract to provide the design package for the Webber Class, the Coast Guard could invite yards to bid competitively to build additional Webber Class.
On the other hand the RFI specifically states, “…the U.S. Coast Guard is interested in meeting only with U.S. shipyards that have the organic capability to design and construct cutters of the FRC’s complexity as described in the U.S. Coast Guard’s 2007 Request for Proposal (RFP).” So it appears that they may also consider other designs that meet the original design requirements.
There is also the very slim possibility that the Coast Guard could build a high-low mix of two different designs in different yards at a rate of more than six vessels a year if it could be sold as a stimulus program.
Related: Fast Response Cutter Alternative? FRC-A? and FRC Alternative?
There have been lots of accounts of impressions from the day of the attack. My own feeling was that our enemies had made a serious miscalculation. Despite comparisons to Pearl Harbor, they had done no damage to our military potential, but this was sure going to piss us off.
The Coast Guard Compass has a whole series including a special issue of the Coast Guard Magazine and comments by both the Commandant and then Commandant James Loy.
I particularly liked this tribute to the mariners, both professional and amateur who aided in the evacuation of people from lower Manhattan.
When you sit down to add that much need Omega-3 to your diet, do you ask where the fish came from. The US and the EU have signed an agreement that is intended to track the origin of fish brought to market in an attempt to combat a form of “piracy,” taking fish illegally form poorly protected stocks.
I suspect one of the poorly protected stocks is in the US western Pacific EEZ and the Federated States of Micronesia.
