Coast Guard, Eastern Shipbuilding Terminate Offshore Patrol Cutter Contract; Rick Scott Ends Promotion Holds
The Coast Guard and Eastern Shipbuilding have reached an agreement to terminate a 10-year-old agreement to build the service’s Offshore Patrol Cutters, USNI News has learned.
“The Coast Guard has reached an agreement with the Offshore Patrol Cutter (OPC) Stage 1 shipbuilder to close out the contract,” the service said in a Friday statement to USNI News. “The Coast Guard will acquire and deliver the OPC class as fast as possible to address the nation’s security and safety needs, while maintaining public trust and stewardship of American taxpayer dollars.”
The Florida shipbuilder had stopped work on the first two Heritage-class OPCs Argus (WMSM-915) and Chase (WMSM-916) last year as the service sought a different arrangement to complete the cutters.
The service did not provide additional details on the contract. An Eastern spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Eastern originally won a contract in 2016 to build for OPCs in its yard in Panama City Beach. That construction was delayed following landfall of Hurricane Michael in 2018 and design issues that were identified by the Government Accountability Office. In 2022, Austal USA was awarded a second round of cutters starting with the fifth OPC Pickering (WMSM-919). Eastern protested the decision and settled with the Coast Guard.
The OPCs are set to replace the Coast Guard’s aging 1980s-era Famous-class and 1960s-era Reliance-class Medium Endurance Cutters. The service has called the OPC program its top acquisition priority. The estimated cost for the 25 OPCs is around $17 billion with the Coast Guard asking for $204 million in the Fiscal Year 2027 budget. The service funded $530 million in Fiscal Year 2025 and 2026.
According to Coast Guard Fiscal Year 2027 budget documents, Argus and Chase are set to deliver this year. Pickering from Austal is set to deliver next year, according to the documents.
Last year, the Department of Homeland Security issued a request for information for towing Argus and Chase from Eastern to potentially be completed at a different shipyard.
Following the agreement, Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) lifted a hold on Coast Guard officer promotions that he placed in April as the negotiations between Eastern and the service continued.
“I’m lifting these holds as all parties have been working together in good faith and are moving towards an amenable agreement that gets ships built and is fair to US taxpayers,” Scott said. “The process still needs to be better. I will fight to ensure there is more oversight and accountability of the Coast Guard and that we fix the Coast Guard procurement process going forward.”
In a May statement to USNI News, Scott’s office said the hold was the result of 18 months of unanswered questions from the service.
