Florida yard completes superstructure assembly hall for US Coast Guard’s Heritage-class cutters

The Eastern Shipbuilding Group has completed construction of a new superstructure fabrication and assembly hall at its Nelson Street Shipyard in Panama City, Florida.

The US$5 million facility will be used primarily for the assembly of aluminium superstructures of the future Heritage-class offshore patrol cutters (OPCs) that will be supplied to the US Coast Guard. Eastern is the prime contractor for the OPC program.

Eastern said the aluminum fabrication facility was specifically designed to support full construction of the OPC aluminium superstructure from fabrication through assembly and outfitting in a covered and controlled environment. Features include a heavily reinforced high-strength concrete slab flooring system and large sliding entryway doors.

Eastern added that the facility is sized to enhance the shipyard’s ability to support the peak production rate of delivering two OPCs per year.