Austal USA rendering of steel facility at its Alabama shipyard. Austal USA Image
The Austal USA shipyard in Alabama that specializes in aluminum ship construction is officially on its way to also offering steel ships, breaking ground on a new facility on Friday meant to open up new business opportunities with the Navy and Coast Guard in the short term. Read More
A starboard view of the anchored US Coast Guard icebreaker POLAR STAR (WAGB 10). Coast Guard Photo
The Coast Guard will not pursue nuclear-powered icebreakers, despite previous White House requests that the service assess the possibility, its top officer said Wednesday. Read More
The future Savannah (LCS-28) is floated down the Mobile River on Sept. 2, 2020, just days after it was christened at the Austal USA shipyard. Austal USA photo.
Austal USA is expanding the capacity and capability of its Alabama shipyard, doubling down on investing in its future in a way reminiscent of 2009, just before it won the block buy of Littoral Combat Ships that secured the yard a spot in the U.S. shipbuilding industrial base. Read More
Rendering of Coast Guard Offshore Patrol Cutter. Eastern Shipbuilding Image
The Coast Guard has picked the homeport for the service’s first pair of Offshore Patrol Cutters on the East Coast, the service announced on Wednesday. Read More
Eastern Shipbuilding laid the keel for its first-in-class offshore patrol cutter, the future Argus, on April 28, 2020. Eastern Shipbuilding image.
This post has been updated to correct the headline. The keel was laid on the first cutter in the class, while a contract was awarded to begin construction on the second.
Eastern Shipbuilding Group laid the keel for the first Offshore Patrol Cutter (OPC) for the Coast Guard, in an audience-free ceremony at the company’s Panama City, Fla., yard. Read More
Adm. Karl Schultz delivers the 2020 State of the Coast Guard Address in Charleston, South Carolina, Thursday, Feb. 20, 2020. US Coast Guard Photo
The Coast Guard’s new range of missions during the COVID-19 global shows how the service is in need of key modernization programs, Coast Guard commandant Adm. Karl Schultz said on Monday. Read More
The Coast Guard Cutter Nathan Bruckenthal berthed before its commissioning ceremony in Alexandria, Virginia, July 25, 2018. The Bruckenthal was the 28th Sentinel-class Fast Response Cutter to be commissioned.
U.S. Coast Guard photo
The Coast Guard’s Fiscal Year 2021 budget request calls for fully funding the next phases of the service’s two most significant cutter programs but leaves a third class on hold for the time being.
U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Munro (WMSL-755) crew members inspect a self-propelled semi-submersible on June 19, 2019, in international waters of the Eastern Pacific Ocean. US Coast Guard Photo
This post is part of a series of review stories looking back at the top naval news from 2019.
For the U.S. Coast Guard, 2019 was marked by big moves in the service’s two most significant programs – the start of the Polar Security Cutter and a delay of the Offshore Patrol Cutter program.
The Coast Guard Cutter Nathan Bruckenthal berthed before its commissioning ceremony in Alexandria, Virginia, July 25, 2018. The Bruckenthal was the 28th Sentinel-class Fast Response Cutter to be commissioned. Coast Guard photo
The House approved a $12 billion Fiscal Year 2020 funding deal that puts limitations on the Offshore Patrol Cutter program while moving ahead with funding for polar icebreakers, Fast Response Cutters and long-range surveillance aircraft. Read More
An artist’s conception of Eastern Shipbuilding’s Offshore Patrol Cutter design.
ARLINGTON, Va. — The head of the Coast Guard said production of the service’s Offshore Patrol Cutter construction is almost a year behind schedule due to damage from Hurricane Michael. Read More
