VT Halter Marine receives PSC contract

VT Halter Marine has been selected by the US Navy as the prime contractor for the detail design and construction of the US Coast Guard’s (USCG's) Polar Security Cutter (PSC).

The initial award is valued at $745.9 million and supports non-recurring engineering and detail design of the PSC class as well as procurement of long lead-time materials and construction of the first ship. The PSC contract is a multi-year programme, with the USCG to acquire up to three multi-mission PSCs to recapitalise its fleet of heavy icebreakers.

The contract also includes options for the construction of two additional PSCs. If all options are exercised, the cumulative value of the contract would be $1.9 billion.

Construction on the first PSC is planned to begin in 2021 with delivery planned for 2024. If the options are exercised, the second and third vessels are expected to be delivered in 2025 and 2027 respectively. PSCs will support a wide range of missions including SAR, maritime law enforcement, environmental response and national defence missions.  

The vessels will be 460ft in length with a beam of 88ft overall. The ship will have a full load displacement of about 33,000t at delivery.

VT Halter Marine, the shipbuilding business of ST Engineering, has been involved in the design analysis study of the PSC since February 2017 and the production engineering studies support work since February 2019.