Mississippi yard to build second polar security cutter for US Coast Guard

By Baird Maritime - January 3, 2022.

VT Halter Marine of Pascagoula, Mississippi, has been awarded a US$552,654,757 fixed-price incentive modification to a previously awarded US Department of Defense (DOD) contract to exercise an option for the detail design and construction of a second polar security cutter for the US Coast Guard.

Work will be performed mainly in VT Halter Marine’s Mississippi facilities and in various other states with completion scheduled for September 2026.

The vessel will have a length of 460 feet (140.2 metres), a beam of 88 feet (26.82 metres), and a full load displacement of about 36,960 tons (33,529 tonnes). A diesel-electric propulsion system will consist of two Caterpillar diesel generators and two ABB podded azimuthing thrusters.

The US Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) is the contracting activity.