SEPTEMBER 21, 2012 — The Coast Guard today exercised a shipbuilding contract option worth $250 million with Bollinger Shipyards of Lockport, La., for the production of six more Sentinel-class Fast Response Cutters (FRCs). The FRCs acquired under this option are scheduled to be delivered to the Coast Guard in 2015. All six will be homeported in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

This option brings the total number of FRCs under contract with Bollinger to eighteen and the total value of the contract to nearly $880 million. The FRC contract contains options for production of up to 30 cutters.

To date, the Coast Guard has taken delivery of three FRCs. Two of those FRCs, Bernard C. Webber and Richard Etheridge, were commissioned into service earlier this year. The third, William Flores, will be commissioned November 3. The fourth FRC, Robert Yered, is scheduled to be delivered in November.

In February, the Coast Guard exercised a $27.2 million contract option with Bollinger Shipyards for the Reprocurement and Data License Package (RDLP) for the FRC. The RDLP provides the Coast Guard with all required licenses, design data, drawings, materials lists, technical and testing information necessary to fully and openly compete the follow-on FRC production contract for a planned second production phase. The second production phase contract is expected to be awarded in fiscal year 2015 and complete the fleet of 58 planned cutters.

The Sentinel-class FRC project uses a proven, in-service parent craft design based on the Damen Stan Patrol Boat 4708. It has a flank speed of 28 knots and a 2,500 hours per year operational employment target. It uses state-of-the-market command, control, communications and computer technology interoperable with the Coast Guard’s existing and future assets, as well as Department of Homeland Security and Department of Defense assets. The cutter also meets American Bureau of Shipping design, build and classification standards.

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