Sun Herald - Ingalls Awarded $500M Contract to Build Eighth Coast Guard Cutter in Pascagoula

News Article

By Unknown

Huntington Ingalls Industries Inc. has received a nearly $500 million contract to build an eighth National Security Cutter (NSC-8) for the U.S. Coast Guard.

U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran, R-Miss., chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriations, said Friday, "This contract maintains our commitment to continue equipping the Coast Guard with very effective vessels to improve protection of our nation's coasts and waterways from drug trafficking and illegal immigration."

His office said the contract represents a modification to a U.S. Department of Homeland Security contract with the Ingalls shipyard in Pascagoula, with a potential value of $499,762,320.

Cochran also is a member of the Senate Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee and worked to secure the fiscal-year 2015 appropriations to fully fund production of the 418-foot frigate.

He worked to provide $76.5 million in fiscal-year 2014 funding for long-lead materials needed to maintain the production line for the construction of the NSC-8.

"I am proud of our shipbuilders in Mississippi, who continually demonstrate that they can produce highly capable National Security Cutters that allow the Coast Guard to serve us well," Cochran said.

U.S. Senator Roger Wicker, R-Miss., said Friday, "These ships are the cornerstone of the Coast Guard's new, modern fleet." He serves on the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, which oversees the Coast Guard.

"I congratulate our hardworking Gulf Coast shipbuilders on being awarded this contract," Wicker said. "I am confident that they will produce a state-of-the-art vessel to help protect our shores."

Source