Bollinger Shipyards has secured a fixed-price-incentive-firm target contract modification valued at $951.6 million from the U.S. Coast Guard in support of the Polar Security Cutter, or PSC, program. The company said Tuesday that work on the contract modification will be performed at the Bollinger Mississippi Shipbuilding and additional facilities in Massachusetts, Illinois, Virginia, Georgia, Louisiana and other regions.
“Securing this contract modification has truly been a herculean effort and underscores the incredible trust the U.S. government has placed in Bollinger to build and deliver the first heavy polar icebreaker in half a century,” commented Ben Bordelon, president and CEO of Bollinger Shipyards.
“We now look forward to receiving the green light to begin full production,” the executive added.
Contract Details
Under the contract, Bollinger will design and construct the polar security cutter for the Coast Guard. The vessel is designed to provide the U.S. military will access to both polar regions and to carry out economic, commercial, maritime and national security missions.
In a statement, Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., highlighted the critical need for an icebreaker.
“As the Arctic grows as an arena of great power competition, the United States will require far more icebreaking capability from the U.S. Coast Guard to defend our interests in the region,” the chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee said.
The PSC program was announced over a decade ago. Bollinger took the reigns of building the polar security cutter in 2022, after the shipmaker acquired VT Halter.
The first Polar Security Cutter is expected to be completed in May 2030.
