Two Louisiana-based shipbuilders are teaming up to pitch the Coast Guard on designs for the Arctic Security Cutter, according to a statement from the companies.
Bollinger Shipyards and Edison Chouest Offshore approached the service with multiple designs in response to the Coast Guard’s request for information for new designs for the icebreaker, a Bollinger spokesperson told USNI News Tuesday.
The pair formed a strategic partnership known as the United Shipbuilding Alliance that will use commercial designs for the proposed cutter program.
“USA will leverage the combined 144 years of expertise and capacity of Bollinger and ECO’s 6,000-plus skilled American workers across their 33 operational shipyards and fabrication facilities across the Gulf of America to rapidly design, build, and deliver icebreakers for commercial and government customers,” reads a statement from the shipyards.
“Between the two American companies, they have built and delivered four icebreakers in the last three decades, and Bollinger is currently constructing the Polar Security Cutter program for the U.S. Coast Guard.”
Edison Chouest built two icebreakers that were leased to the National Science Foundation and the commercial icebreaker MV Aiviq, which will be recommissioned as USCGC Storis (WAGB-21) for service in the Coast Guard.
The announcement of the pairing comes as the Coast Guard has cast a wide net across foreign and domestic yards to build the Arctic Security Cutters. The proposed $5.03 billion program, which also includes smaller cutters for the Great Lakes, is part of a proposed $14.6 billion cutter supplemental as part of the reconciliation bill, USNI News reported last week. In addition to U.S. yards, Finnish and Canadian shipyards have pitched designs to the Coast Guard for the Arctic Security Cutter, USNI News previously reported.
The announcement of the USA partnership played into the benefits of an American-made cutter.
“The United Shipbuilding Alliance is proof that American industry can and will deliver faster, better, and more cost-effectively, by aligning commercial innovation with national security priorities,” reads a statement from Bollinger CEO Ben Bordelon.
“Together with our partners at Edison Chouest Offshore, we’re leveraging our combined experience, infrastructure, and skilled American workforce to give the United States the tools it needs to lead in the Arctic.”
