USCG awards seventh Legend-class cutter construction contract to HII

The US Coast Guard (USCG) has awarded fixed-price, incentive-fee contract to Huntington Ingalls Industries’ (HII) Ingalls Shipbuilding division to build a seventh Legend-class National Security Cutter (WMSL 756).

Under the $497m contract, Ingalls Shipbuilding division will construct seventh Legend-class cutter for the USCG.

The WMSL 756 ship construction is due to commence in January 2015 and will be delivered to the USCG in 2018.

"We have a hot production line with this class of ships, and we continue to get better — a tangible result demonstrating the value of serial production,"

Ingalls NSC programme manager Jim French said, "Each ship is built more effectively and more affordably than the one before it, and this is due to the hard work of our shipbuilders who are implementing efficient build plans and bringing our learning curve down as each ship is delivered.

The company had delivered the first three NSCs till date while fourth cutter, Hamilton (WMSL 753), scheduled to be delivered in the third quarter of 2014.

The fifth ship, James (WMSL 754), is due to be launched in April and the sixth NSC (WMSL 755) began construction late last year and is expected to be launched in the fourth quarter of 2015.

Designed to replace the 378ft Hamilton-class high-endurance cutters that entered service during the 1960s, the Legend-class ships have a top speed of 28k, a range of 12,000 miles, an endurance of 60 days and can accommodate a crew of 110.

The 418ft-long and 4,500t vessels feature robust capabilities for maritime homeland security, law enforcement, marine safety, environmental protection and national defence missions.

Image: Ingalls Shipbuilding-built USCGC Stratton conducting mission at sea. Photo: Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc.