Bollinger Shipyards

Bollinger Shipyards LLC
LLC
Industry Shipbuilding, Defense
Founded 1946 (1946)
Founder Donald G. Bollinger
Headquarters Lockport, Lafourche, Louisiana, United States
Area served
 worldwide
Key people
 Benjamin G. Bordelon (President and CEO)[1]
Products Patrol Boats, Cutters, Workboats, Barges, Tugboats
Website www.bollingershipyards.com

Bollinger Shipyards is an American constructor of ships, workboats and patrol vessels.[2] The firm was founded in 1946. Its thirteen shipyards and forty drydocks are located in Louisiana and Texas. Its drydocks range in capacity from vessels of 100 tons displacement to 22,000 tons displacement.

Coast Guard vessels

The United States Coast Guard has called upon Bollinger Shipyards to build many of its patrol vessels

Marine Protector cutters

Marine Protector showing its stern launching ramp with transom raised.

Bollinger secured the contract to build approximately fifty Marine Protector cutters.[3] These 87 foot (27 m) vessels were staffed by a crew of 10. Uniquely for Coast Guard vessels of this size they were designed to be capable of being crewed by crews of mixed sex. These high speed vessels were lightly armed, mounting just two Browning M2 fifty caliber machine guns. But they were equipped with a stern launching ramp, capable of launching and retrieving a high speed pursuit boat while the cutter was still in motion. The launch and retrieval of the pursuit boat required just one sailor to remain on deck.

Island Class cutters

Bollinger originally built 49 110 feet (34 m) Island class cutters, so called because each cutter was named after an Island. These vessels were staffed by a crew of 18, and their primary armament was a 25 mm autocannon. Bollinger secured a contract to refit eight of the Island Class cutters, adding thirteen feet to their stern, so they too could launch and retrieve a pursuit boat from a rear launching ramp.[4][5] The refit also included replacing the original deckhouse and refitting the crew accommodation so they could carry a mixed gender crew of 18. The conversion added 15 tons to each vessel. All of the eight refitted 123 feet (37 m) Island class cutters' hulls would crack when driven at high speed in a heavy seas, and proved to be so unseaworthy that they were all withdrawn from service, forcing the scrapping of the conversion program. As a result, in August 2011, the US government sued Bollinger over the failed modifications, alleging that the company made false statements about the hull strength that would result from its extensions to the patrol boats.[6] The suit was dismissed.[7]

First Sentinel-class Fast Response Cutter (FRC), USCGC Bernard C. Webber

Sentinel Class cutters

On September 26, 2008, Bollinger Shipyards in Lockport, Louisiana, USA, was awarded US$88 million to build the prototype.[8] In 2008 Bollinger secured a contract to build the first group of 24-34 Sentinel-class cutters.[9] On 5 May, 2016 U.S. Coast Guard has signed a new contract with Bollinger Shipyards for building 26 Sentinel-class fast-response cutters. Bollinger Shipyards already had a contract with the U.S. Coast Guard for building 32 cutters. After signing the new contract, the number of cutters increased to 58 cutters. The Federal Government will have to pay for 58 vessels nearly $3.8 billion.[10] A news release says the new boats will replace ones that Bollinger built more than 30 years ago. These 154 feet (47 m) 240 ton vessels will be staffed by a crew of 22, and are armed with a remote-operated Mk 38 Mod 2 25 mm autocannon and four .50 caliber crew-served Browning M2 machine guns. These vessels can also stern launch and retrieve a high speed pursuit boat, without coming to a stop. These vessels are capable of being staffed by a crew of mixed sexes. They were designed for missions of five days. The first three vessels were launched in 2011 and 17 are now in commission as of May 2016.[11] They are being launched at a rate of four per year.

United States Navy vessels

Cyclone-class patrol ships

USS Chinook (PC-9) -- like the Coast Guard vessels the Cyclone-class vessels deploy and retrieve their pursuit boat via a stern launching ramp.

Bollinger built 14 Cyclone-class patrol ships for the U.S. Navy between 1993 and 2000. The ships are 179 feet (55 m) long and carry a crew of 28 (4 officers, 24 enlisted). Their mission is coastal patrol and interdiction surveillance. These ships can also provide full mission support for Navy SEALs and other special operations forces. As of 2010, four of these vessels have been decommissioned in the Navy. Three had been loaned to the Coast Guard to fill patrol hours but have been returned to the USN as of October 2011.[12] one vessel, PC-1, was transferred to the Philippine Navy, as an excess defense article.[13]

As of 2015, ten of the US Navy's thirteen Cyclone-class patrol ships were deployed to the Persian Gulf to deal with a potential conflict with Iran.[14] The remaining three ships of the class are slated to be transferred to Naval Station Mayport in Florida to work primarily with drug interdiction work with U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command (USNAVSO) / U.S. Fourth Fleet.[15]

References

  1. ↑ Bollinger Shipyards. "Executive Team - Bollinger Shipyards". Retrieved January 7, 2016.
  2. ↑ "Bollinger: Company Profile". Bollinger Shipyards. Retrieved 2009-10-08.
  3. ↑ "Aircraft, Boats, and Cutters: Cutters: 87-foot Coastal Patrol Boat (WPB) - Marine Protector Class". United States Coast Guard. 2009-03-31. Retrieved 2009-10-09.
  4. ↑ Nathaniel R. Helms (2005-06-23). "Coast Guard Scramble Over Deepwater Snag". Military.com. Retrieved 2009-10-08.
  5. ↑ "Coast Guard ends cutter conversion program". marinelog.com. 2005-07-18. Retrieved 2009-10-08.
  6. ↑ Laster, Jill, "Shipbuilder sued over failed extension of 110s", Military Times, 17 August 2011.
  7. ↑ Emily Atkin (October 21, 2013). "Shipyard Ducks $78M FCA Suit Over Flawed Coast Guard Hulls". Law360.
  8. ↑ "Acquisition Directorate: Newsroom". United States Coast Guard. Archived from the original on 2009-10-08.
  9. ↑ "SENTINEL Class Patrol Boat: Media Round Table" (PDF). United States Coast Guard. 2008-09-30. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-10-03. Retrieved 2009-09-26.
  10. ↑ "U.S. Coast Guard has signed a new contract with Bollinger Shipyards"
  11. ↑ Chris Vaughn (2011-11-29). "New CG Cutter Named for Local Hero". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Archived from the original on 2011-12-02. Retrieved 2011-12-02. The Coast Guard chose to name its latest fast-response cutter after Flores. The ship is being launched from the Bollinger Shipyards in southern Louisiana and will undergo several months of testing before it is commissioned and joins the fleet.
  12. ↑ http://www.navytimes.com/article/20110815/NEWS/108150329/CG-returns-3-coastal-patrol-boats-Navy
  13. ↑ "Patrol Coastal". Naval Vessel Register. United States Navy. Retrieved 2010-02-28.
  14. ↑ Axe, David. "Congress Hates On the Navy’s Tiniest Warships" War is Boring. April 21, 2015.
  15. ↑ Cavas, Christopher P. "PCs on the move – to Central Command." Intercepts. Published 3 Jul 2013. Accessed 8 Jul 2013.

External links

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