Bollinger Shipyards Secures Nearly $1 Billion to Address Budget Overruns in Coast Guard Polar Security Cutter Initiative

Bollinger Shipyards, located in Mississippi, has landed a hefty $951.6 million contract modification from the U.S.Coast Guard to keep moving forward wiht the design adn construction of the Polar Security Cutter (PSC), our first new heavy icebreaker in decades. This update comes six years after VT Halter Marine initially secured a $745.9 million deal, which Bollinger took over when it acquired Halter Marine in 2022. The total cost for up to three vessels is projected at around $1.9 billion.

However, this project hasn’t been smooth sailing; it’s been plagued by delays and budget overruns since day one. The congressional Budget Office (CBO) now estimates that just the lead vessel will set us back about $1.9 billion alone! And if we look ahead to the second and third vessels—still waiting for funding—they’re expected to cost roughly $1.6 billion each,considerably higher than recent Coast Guard projections of around $3.2 billion for all three.

Troy Bouffard, who heads up the Center for Arctic Security and Resilience at the university of Alaska Fairbanks, points out that these financial hiccups highlight a broader shipbuilding crisis in America: “This is our first heavy icebreaker in nearly half a century; clearly we have some challenges ahead.”

Construction on this lead vessel was supposed to kick off just before 2024 wrapped up—an effort to meet deadlines set during various Congressional hearings—but according to Bollinger’s press release about their contract modification, they haven’t received official approval yet.

Ben Bordelon, President and CEO of Bollinger Shipyards, expressed optimism: “We’re eager for that green light so we can dive into full production.” Yet both CBO and Goverment Accountability Office (GAO) have cautioned against starting construction without complete designs; while Coast Guard officials hinted they might begin at 95 percent completion.

As of now, there’s no word from the Coast Guard on whether construction got underway as planned last December.

The Arctic region’s geopolitical importance has surged recently with Russia and China ramping up their investments in icebreakers and other capable vessels—last fall even saw them conducting joint patrols near Alaska’s coast! Former President Trump had enterprising plans too; he aimed for acquiring as many as 40 heavy icebreakers—a daunting task considering none have been built here since before most people can remember!

U.S Senator Roger wicker (R-MS), who chairs the Senate Armed Services Committee noted: “With rising competition over Arctic resources among global powers like Russia and China, enhancing our icebreaking capabilities is crucial.”

On another note, building these PSCs has lead to job growth at Bollinger Shipyards—the workforce expanded by an remarkable 61% since 2022! Most new hires are filling production roles as demand ramps up with this program expected only to grow further.

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