The U.S. Coast Guard provides a great return on investment. That’s what the agency’s commandant, Adm. Paul F. Zukunft, said at a congressional hearing in late February. That’s also what he told Passenger Vessel Association members earlier that month at the annual convention in California.
Zukunft addressed a House Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation hearing on President Obama’s $10 billion budget request for the Coast Guard for 2016. The Coast Guard’s current budget is $10.3 billion. As Dale DuPont writes in the upcoming issue of WorkBoat, Zukunft faced a sympathetic audience of House members who advised him to be candid about his needs.
“You are the most frugal of the services, and you’re critical on a day-to-day basis,” said Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore. “We have to figure out a way to get you adequate resources to meet all your national security obligations, which have grown dramatically, but also to meet your day-to-day obligations.”
Indeed. As Zukunft pointed out, the demand for Coast Guard services has never been greater. The Coast Guard, due to its limited and aging aircraft and vessel assets, is only able to disrupt 20% of the 90% of “known maritime drug flow” that the agency has intelligence on. That’s why, Zukunft said, the Offshore Patrol Cutter (OPC) is his No. 1 acquisition priority. “It’s the most significant major acquisition in Coast Guard history,” he told lawmakers. Zunkunft said the OPC is not only essential to interdicting drug smugglers at sea and undocumented migrants, but also needed to rescue mariners, enforce fisheries laws, respond to disasters and protect ports. A big challenge, he said, is securing full funding for final design of the OPC.
In February 2014, Bollinger Shipyards, Eastern Shipbuilding Group and Bath Iron Works were named finalists to build the OPC. Each yard was awarded a $21.95 million fixed-price contract for preliminary and contract design for the OPC. The Phase I period was expected to take 18 months. Unless Phase I is delayed, in June or July the Coast Guard is expected to evaluate each submission and select one shipyard for detail design and ship construction. The Coast Guard plans to build a total of 25 OPCs at an estimated cost of $10.5 billion.
Zukunft also commented on the Fast Response Cutter (FRC) program, now underway at Bollinger. He called it “a game changer.” Bollinger has delivered 12 Sentinel-class FRCs.
In July 2014, the Coast Guard awarded a $255 million option to Bollinger for six more FRCs. The option increased the number of FRCs under contract with Bollinger to 30, with a contract value of $1.4 billion.
Let’s hope that the Coast Guard gets the funding it needs to replace its aging assets.
