US Coast Guard Orders Continued Development of New Patrol Boat Fleet

A Florida shipbuilding company has won a contract to continue work on designing nine new patrol boats, or offshore cutters, to guard US domestic waters, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said in a press release.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — The contract includes $110.2 million for detail design of the Offshore Patrol Cutter and options for production of the lead ship and up to eight follow-on cutters, the DHS said.

"The Department of Homeland Security and the US Coast Guard has announced that Eastern Shipbuilding Group, Inc., of Panama City, Florida has been awarded a contract to continue development of the Offshore Patrol Cutter," the release stated on Friday.

The vessels will be used on missions ranging from combating transnational organized criminal networks off Central America to patrolling in the Arctic Ocean, Zukunft explained.

"The Offshore Patrol Cutter will replace our aging medium endurance cutters and provide the majority of offshore presence by the Coast Guard's cutter fleet," Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Paul Zukunft said in the release.

The first of the new vessels is expected to be delivered in fiscal year 2021, according to the release.