A US shipbuilder has placed a new floating dock into service as a pilot boat has begun operations on the US East Coast and a survey boat ordered by a Dutch owner was recently launched. Construction has meanwhile begun on a new US Coast Guard inland cutter. Lastly, a Canadian yard has entered into agreements to supply its patented icebreaker design with counterparts in the US and Finland.
A new hydrographic survey vessel ordered by Dutch subsea solutions provider the N-Sea Group was recently launched in the Netherlands.
Geo Master is of a similar design as Geo Ranger, which is already under N-Sea management and control. Delivery of the newer survey vessel is scheduled for March 2026 while operational sailings will commence shortly afterwards.
Geo Master will also be upgraded to meet the latest standards in fuel efficiency and emissions while retaining the ability to run on biofuel.
Birdon America of Bayou La Batre, Alabama, has begun construction of the third waterways commerce cutter (WCC) slated for the US Coast Guard.
The WCCs will replace the coast guard's legacy fleet of inland tenders. The new vessels will be manufactured in two variants: river buoy tenders (WLRs) and inland construction tenders (WLICs).
Both WLICs and WLRs are being acquired under the same contract due to their substantial design similarities.
US naval shipbuilder General Dynamics Electric Boat (GDEB) has begun operating its newest floating dry dock.
The 618- by 140-foot (188- by 43-metre) Atlas was built by Bollinger Shipyards of Louisiana. It will support GDEB's construction and sustainment of the US Navy Columbia-class ballistic missile submarine program by providing essential dry dock capacity for construction, maintenance, and long-term sustainment.
GDEB is the prime contractor on the design and build of the Columbia class submarines, which will replace the ageing Ohio-class boats due to begin to retire from service in 2027.
Canada's Seaspan Shipyards has entered into agreements with US-based Bollinger Shipyards and Rauma Marine Constructions of Finland to provide its proven multi-purpose icebreaker (MPI) design and associated supply chain packages to enable rapid construction and delivery of up to six vessels for the US Coast Guard's Arctic security cutter (ASC) program.
Rauma will build up to two vessels in Finland with delivery expected in 2028 under the contracts formally announced by the US Coast Guard last week. Bollinger will meanwhile construct up to four ASCs in the US with the first of these expected in 2029.
Seaspan said that its MPI design, developed in partnership with Aker Arctic Technology of Finland, is ready for production enabling construction on the ASC program to begin immediately.
The Association of Maryland Pilots (AMP) recently took delivery of a new pilot launch from Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding of Massachusetts.
Named Federal Hill, the boat is the latest in series of pilot launches that are slated to replace the association's older and larger FRP-hulled, 45-foot (13.7-metre) craft that are nearing retirement. Fells Point, the first boat in the series, was delivered to AMP in 2021.
With an LOA of 48.5 feet (14.7 metres), a beam of 15.6 feet (4.75 metres), and a draught of four feet (1.2 metres), the Ray Hunt-designed, all-aluminium boat features a 20-degree, deep V hull for improved seakeeping ability.
