Report: USCG Suspends Construction on Two More Cutters
The U.S. Coast Guard, which has been struggling with its new ship efforts, has reportedly placed a temporary stop work order on two cutters under construction in its Heritage-class Offshore Patrol Class. Reports of the pause come a day after the Department of Homeland Security announced it had canceled a contract for another cutter in its Legend-class national security cutter and the Department has promised to overhaul the operations of the USCG under its Force Design 2028 project.
News of the pause was reported by Defense Daily which wrote that work on the third and fourth vessels underway at Eastern Shipbuilding is being delayed as issues regarding funding and delays in the timing of the program are underway. Work on the third cutter, to be named, Ingham, has been underway since mid-2022 when the keel was laid, and steel cutting is underway for number four, USCG Rush.
“We share a common goal with the U.S. Coast Guard—to deliver the Offshore Patrol Cutters as quickly and efficiently as possible,” Joey D’Isernia, CEO of Eastern Shipbuilding Group told The Maritime Executive. “We are actively working to reach an agreement that ensures the program is properly funded and can move forward without further delay. System light-offs on Hull 1 are currently underway, and despite the unprecedented challenges we’ve faced, we remain confident that our incredible workforce represents the most capable and reliable team to complete these vital national security assets.”
The Heritage-class has been highlighted as a key component of the future USCG operations. Planning for the vessels began more than a decade ago with the USCG calling the vessels “one of its highest investment priorities.” The vessels which are to be 360 feet in length with a top speed of 22.5 knots are designed to bridge the capabilities of the 418-foot national security cutters, which patrol the open ocean, and the 154-foot fast response cutters, which serve closer to shore. The Heritage-class is needed to replace the 270-foot and 210-foot medium endurance cutters that are approximately 30 and 50 years old.
The Coast Guard awarded the first preliminary design contract to three yards in 2014 and in 2016 selected the design from Eastern Shipbuilding saying it anticipated the first cutter would be delivered in 2021. However, the first steel was not cut till early 2019 and the keel was approved in 2020 followed by work starting on the second and third cutters and steel cutting for the fourth. Eastern launched the first cutter, USCG Argus, on October 27, 2023.
The second phase of the program was awarded in July 2022 with Austal contracted for one cutter and options for up to 10 more. Production on the first of the Austal-built cutters was started in August 2024 with the Coast Guard saying it would be delivered in 2027. The Coast Guard has said its goal is to build 25 Heritage-class cutters.
Congress and the Government Accountability Office have been highly critical of USCG and its management of the shipbuilding programs, and in particular the OPC and the Polar Security Cutter. Anxious to get the programs into production, GAO highlighted efforts to push the programs into construction before designs were completed, multiple design changes, and change orders to the contracts. It has resulted in delays to both programs and cost increases. Eastern was also challenged by extensive damage in the Panama City area of Florida by a Category 5 hurricane that hit the area as the program was getting started. The COVID-19 pandemic also impacted the program and contributed to coast increases.
Hours after Donald Trump took office in January, the Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard Admiral Linda Fagan, was dismissed. Reports cited a failure of leadership on a range of issues including the problems in the shipbuilding programs. Recently, Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem outlined the Force Design 28 program that calls for fundamentally overhauling the U.S. Coast Guard.
Homeland Security is moving forward with its efforts announcing yesterday that it has agreed with HII to cancel construction for the eleventh Legend-class cutter which was under construction at Ingalls in Mississippi. Parts from the program will be used instead for maintenance of the existing 10 vessels of the class.
USCG is in critical need of the new vessels to replace and upgrade its aging fleet. Congress has promised to address the under-funding issues in the shipbuilding programs while it has also demanded improvement to the programs and addressing issues such as the design problems that have plagued and delayed construction.