Congressional leaders detailed their concerns in a bipartisan letter to the Coast Guard sent Nov. 25, from Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.); the chair of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure; ranking member Rep. Sam Graves (R-Mo. The Coast Guard has picked the homeport for the service’s first pair of Offshore Patrol Cutters on the East Coast, the service announced on Wednesday. The first of the new offshore patrol cutters is still likely to be about 10 months behind schedule as Eastern Shipbuilding Group recovers from the … DHS, Coast Guard extend limited contract relief for Offshore Patrol Cutter. —– The 27 Nov. Update The RFP is available here. The service is asking potential bidders to provide analysis comparing their anticipated costs with this target for building the six OPCs. Moving quickly in the wake of a major change in its original contract for a new medium-class cutter, the Coast Guard on Friday released a notional schedule for the revamped acquisition schedule for the Offshore Patrol Cutter (OPC) showing plans to issue a Request for Proposal (RFP) for industry studies in early 2020 leading to a contract award in late fiscal year 2022 for detail design and … WASHINGTON – The Department of Homeland Security, in close coordination with the U.S. Coast Guard, granted extraordinary relief to the Eastern Shipbuilding Group (ESG) for the Offshore Patrol Cutter (OPC) under the authority of Public Law (P.L.) The Coast Guard must learn from this report and move forward in a financially responsible and efficient way on this process.” This release follows the Industry Day event held Dec. 11, 2019, and the release of the draft RFP. This post was updated to accurately reflect the size of the Offshore Patrol Cutter contract the Coast Guard is re-competing. Eastern has to show it still has the workforce available to complete the work, even if all the hurricane destruction was repaired. “We want to have a legitimate competition,” Schultz said in answer to an audience question. “This can go a lot of different ways.”, He added, “Eastern has a reputation of building good ships. A new GAO (Government Accountability Office) report into the U.S. Coast Guard’s Offshore Patrol Cutter (OPC) program is critical of several aspects of the acquisition strategy and makes eight recommendations that, it says, could reduce risk. Coast Guard to Re-Compete Multi-Billion Dollar Offshore Patrol Cutter Contract. “DHS, Coast Guard extend limited contract relief for Offshore Patrol Cutter” –CG News Release Posted on October 11, 2019 Below is a news release in full. ARLINGTON, Va. — The head of the Coast Guard said production of the service’s Offshore Patrol Cutter construction is almost a year behind schedule due to damage from Hurricane Michael. To reign-in costs and try getting the program back on schedule, the Coast Guard is now taking the extraordinary measure of recompeting the entire contract for OPC hulls five through 25. (Graphic: Eastern Shipbuilding Group.) The GAO studied the Offshore Patrol Cutter contracts at the request of U.S. Reps. Peter DeFazio (D-OR), the Chair of the House Committee on Transportation […] However, the current prime contractor, Panama City, Fla.-based Eastern Shipbuilding Group, is having a hard time fulfilling the contract due to damage caused in 2018 by Hurricane Michael. The Department of Homeland Security, after extensive analysis by the U.S. Coast Guard and further review by a Contract Adjustment Board chaired by the Department’s Deputy Under Secretary for Management, has granted limited extraordinary contract relief to Eastern Shipbuilding Group (ESG) for the Offshore Patrol Cutter (OPC) contract under the authority of Public Law (P.L.) The Coast Guard intends to purchase up to 25 OPCs making this the service’s largest acquisition program. Naval Institute, Assailant in NAS Pensacola Mass Shooting Was Saudi Aviation Student; Navy Identifies Slain Victims. Eastern beat General Dynamics Bath Iron Works and Bollinger Shipyards to land the design and construction contract. ... in parallel with immediate recompete, is the best option in this exceptional situation. Papp is the first Washington lobbyist hired by Eastern Shipbuilding, according to a company statement. “The GAO’s concerns outlined in this report reinforce the bipartisan concerns of our Committee. ... low because it assumed the “Crew Rotation Concept” would be applied to all National Security Cutters and Offshore Patrol Cutters, allowing an unrealistically high 225 days away from home. Schultz said the delays could raise the price of the first four cutters by more than $650 million. Hi, One thing that really sticks out to me about the notional information on the OPC in comparison to similar data for the LCSs is just how different the Coast Guard and Navy's approach to ships this size is. Eastern Shipbuilding laid the keel for its first-in-class offshore patrol cutter, the future Argus, on April 28, 2020. Rubio supported a plan to modify Eastern Shipbuilding’s contract with the Coast Guard. The Coast Guard has picked the homeport for the service’s first pair of Offshore Patrol Cutters on the East Coast, the service announced on Wednesday. …Now they have to prove it.”. The 25-hull OPC fleet is intended to replace the Coast Guard’s current fleet of 29 medium-endurance cutters, some of which were built during the Vietnam War. Lawmakers, though, did not sound too receptive to the plan. The service may know more about the way ahead following a meeting Wednesday in Baltimore with shipbuilders interested in bidding in the re-competition for a contract potentially worth $10.5 billion. The Coast Guard plan would allow Eastern Shipbuilding to continue building the first four OPCs but would move forward with seeking new bidders to build out the fleet, Adm. Karl Schultz, the commandant of the Coast Guard, said during an event co-hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies and the U.S. The re-competition is an extraordinary step but is designed to hold down costs and try to put the program back on schedule. When they enter service, the new ships will be replacing cutters averaging about 50 years of age. (Coast Guard photo … Schultz Details Coast Guard Rationale for Offshore Patrol Cutter Re-Compete, Member Services call 800-233-8764 or 410-268-6110, The Coast Guard awarded Eastern a contract, first four cutters by more than $650 million, Acting SECNAV Modly Puts a Ten-Year Clock on Reaching 355 Ship Navy. An artist’s conception of Eastern Shipbuilding’s Offshore Patrol Cutter design. Acquisition of the offshore patrol cutter is the Coast Guard’s highest investment priority. “We are skeptical that such truly extraordinary relief is justified given that this ‘crisis’ was foreseeable and mostly avoidable. The future USCG Offshore Patrol Cutter (ESG) ... “This review . The decision to recompete has raised a number of “Issues For Congress” beginning on page 19 and continuing through page 23, including consideration of a 12th National Security Cutter in view of the delays in the delivery of Offshore Patrol Cutters. Workers evacuated from the area and were slow to return. . determined that limited relief, in parallel with immediate recompete, is the best option in this exceptional situation. ), Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (D-N.Y.), chair of subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation; and ranking member Rep. Bob Gibbs, (R-Ohio). The Coast Guard is recompeting its potentially $10.5 billion Offshore Patrol Cutter contract because the program risks falling fatally behind schedule due to hurricane damage to the shipyard initially awarded the contract. Schultz added the Panama City-Fla.-builder had to show that it can deliver the 21 cutters that would be needed. DHS Curtails Eastern Shipbuilding’s Offshore Patrol Cutter Contract, Plans Immediate Recompete Notional OPC design is 360-feet long, a 54-foot beam, and 17-foot draft. 85-804. This post has been updated to correct the headline. Eastern beat General Dynamics Bath Iron Works and Bollinger Shipyards to land the design and construction contract. These vessels are optimised to fulfil duties including military security, safety and humanitarian tasks. He earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Maryland and a master’s degree from New York University. The program has already slipped nearly a year behind schedule and could cost an additional $659 million to finish just the first four OPCs contracted to Eastern Shipbuilding Group as part of a nine-hull deal awarded in 2016, according to a recent Congressional Research Service report. A schedule included as part of the Stage 2 draft RFP… The chief lobbyist for Eastern Shipbuilding is former commandant of the Coast Guard, retired Adm. Robert Papp, who joined the company shortly after being awarded the initial OPC contract. The study, along with an industry day scheduled for next Wednesday, is intended to give the Coast Guard an assessment of the technical effort, cost risks and schedule risks associated with recompeting the OPC contract. The average purchase cost for OPCs is about $421 million per ship, according to the CRS report. The Coast Guard is recompeting its potentially $10.5 billion Offshore Patrol Cutter contract because the program risks falling fatally behind schedule due to hurricane damage to the shipyard initially awarded the contract. Acquisition of the offshore patrol cutter (OPC) is the Coast Guard’s highest investment priority. Eastern Shipbuilding was just about to start building Argus and was gathering materials to start building Chase when Hurricane Michael hit the Florida panhandle, USNI News reported in October 2018. “Do they have the production capability.”. In his remarks, the commandant said the Coast Guard sounded out “eight or nine companies” in its request for information on what comes next in the program. The deadline to submit responses to the final RFP is Jan. 31, 2020. An earlier version of this post included an incorrect number of hulls included in the re-compete. It reports that “contract relief” will be granted to Eastern Shipyard for construction of the first four ships but that the Coast Guard will reopen bidding for the follow on ships. — The head of the Coast Guard said production of the service’s Offshore Patrol Cutter construction is almost a year behind schedule due to damage from Hurricane Michael. The OPC will provide a capability bridge between the national security cutter, which patrols the open ocean in the most demanding maritime environments, and the fast response cutter, which serves closer to shore. On Friday, the U.S. Coast Guard announced its massive but troubled 25-ship Offshore Patrol Cutter program will be restructured. Flexible mission modules and modular manning concepts make almost any role possible. “We really need industry input to see where flexibility” can be achieved because “we get the benefits of that” in drafting the request for proposals that could go out this month. “These activities will provide fresh insight into the current state of the shipbuilding industrial base and inform the Coast Guard’s way forward on a re-compete strategy to complete the OPC program of record,” Brian Olexy, the communication manager for the Coast Guard Acquisition Directorate, told USNI News in an email. By: Ben Werner. The Coast Guard divided the Offshore Patrol Cutter (OPC) program into two stages and revised its cost and schedule goals following widespread disruptions from Hurricane Michael in October 2018, which led the shipbuilder to request relief from certain requirements under contract. Heritage-class Offshore Patrol Cutter (OPC) WMSM Maritime Security Cutter Medium. The Damen Offshore Patrol Vessel range has been specifically developed for navies and coastguards for a wide variety of tasks in regions where there is a low-level of threat. “The Offshore Patrol Cutter is a vital tool to advancing the Coast Guard’s mission,” said Maloney. The OPCs will provide the majority of offshore presence for the Coast Guard’s cutter fleet, bridging the capabilities of the 418-foot national security cutters, which patrol the open ocean, and the 154-foot fast response cutters, which serve closer to shore. Eastern Shipbuilding officials could not be reached for comment at the time of this post. An artist’s conception of Eastern Shipbuilding’s Offshore Patrol Cutter design. A government watchdog agency issued a report on reducing risks for a $12 billion acquisition of 25 Offshore Patrol Cutters, citing its design process, a deficient construction schedule and incomplete cost estimate. The OPC will provide a capability bridge between the national security cutter, which patrols the open ocean in the most demanding maritime environments, and the fast response cutter, which serves closer to shore. Meanwhile the Coast Guard will recompete a contract for OPC #5 with options for #6-15. Offshore Patrol Cutters. When they did, many took jobs rebuilding nearby Tyndall Air Force Base, which also suffered substantial damage from the hurricane, according to a statement released by Sen. Marco Rubio (R.-Fla.). Eastern Shipbuilding image. In October, the Coast Guard asked Congress for extraordinary relief from the contract, on behalf of Eastern Shipbuilding. Follow @Wernertime//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js, Coast Guard to Re-Compete Multi-Billion Dollar Offshore Patrol Cutter Contract, Member Services call 800-233-8764 or 410-268-6110, statement released by Sen. Marco Rubio (R.-Fla.), by the Center for Strategic and International Studies and the U.S. “The veil of secrecy regarding its analysis and the absence of any meaningful consultation by the Coast Guard and DHS with the Committee, provides us scant confidence that any revised OPC contract will not encounter a similar fate as the original contract,” the congressional letter states. The Coast Guard needs to stabilize its design for the offshore patrol cutter before construction moves forward on the third vessel in its accelerated acquisition and build program that was “significantly disrupted” by 2018’s Hurricane Michael, the Government Accountability Office said in a … The Coast Guard released a final request for proposal (RFP) Jan. 10, 2020, for industry studies to support offshore patrol cutter (OPC) follow-on production. A new report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) has reinforced bipartisan concerns from the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee leaders regarding the U.S. Coast Guard’s $12 billion shipbuilding contract. “We think we have a pretty mature design” for the cutters, but “cost will be relevant” in deciding which yard or yards will receive the contract,” Schultz said. March 20, 2020 — The Coast Guard announced the award of eight Offshore Patrol Cutter (OPC) industry studies contracts March 20, 2020. The OPC will provide a critical capability bridge between the national security cutter, which patrols the open ocean in the most demanding maritime environments, and the fast response cutter, which serves closer to shore. The service’s chief acquisition civilian James Knight added, “we want to find out what we need to do to level that playing field” to draw interest from other shipyards. The Coast Guard previously set a target cost of $310 million per cutter. State Department Approves F-35 and Super Hornet Sales For Finland Fighter Competition The Coast Guard last Friday released the draft request for proposals (RFP) for a new competition for its Offshore Patrol Cutter (OPC) with revised plans still on track to release the final RFP early in 2021. John Grady, a former managing editor of Navy Times, retired as director of communications for the Association of the United States Army. Friday is the deadline for contractors to provide comments on an OPC industry studies statement of work. These awards support the Coast Guard’s strategy to mitigate OPC program risk and establish a new, fair and open competitive environment to complete the OPC … “Eastern has the right to re-compete,” he said. Further, we are concerned that this relief sets a damaging precedent that any current or future contract with the United States Coast Guard (Coast Guard or Service) could be renegotiated outside the Federal Acquisition Regulations,” their letter states. This post was updated to accurately reflect the size of the Offshore Patrol Cutter contract the Coast Guard is re-competing. The Coast Guard last Friday released a draft statement of work (SOW) for its planned recompete of its Offshore Patrol Cutter (OPC) vessels and is seeking industry feedback on a proposed schedule and on potential acceleration of ship construction. The storm displaced many residents of the area, and skilled workers were lured away to other jobs in the region. The Coast Guard awarded Eastern a contract in Sept. 2016 to build the future USCGC Argus (WMSM-915) with options to build up to nine OPCs. Comments Off on DHS, Coast Guard extend limited contract relief for Offshore Patrol Cutter. Adm. Charles W. Ray, vice commandant of the Coast Guard, discusses the construction of the first offshore patrol cutter with a welder during his visit to the Eastern Shipbuilding Group shipyard in Panama City, Florida, on March 14, 2019. Commandant Adm. Karl Schultz expects delivery of the first of the cutters from Eastern Shipbuilding in 2023 with the next three to be delivered in succeeding years, he said speaking at a Navy League breakfast. Ship Control: Integrated Bridge Length: 2016 : 360 feet 350 FT or 320-360ft. 85-804. His reporting on national defense and national security has appeared on Breaking Defense, GovExec.com, NextGov.com, DefenseOne.com, Government Executive and USNI News. The first OPC, Argus, was funded in Fiscal Year 2018. The lawmakers are concerned the Coast Guard and Department of Homeland Security focused on “exploring options to resuscitate [Eastern Shipbuilding Group] and prevent it from defaulting on the OPC contract without first completing a transparent and objective alternative analysis.”. Acquisition of the offshore patrol cutter (OPC) is the Coast Guard’s highest invest-ment priority. In September 2016, the Coast Guard awarded Eastern Shipbuilding Group a contract to build the future USCGC Argus (WMSM-915) with options to build up to nine OPCs. The second OPC, the future USCGC Chase (WMSM-916) and long-lead-time materials for the third OPC were funded in the FY 2019. The two OPCs will be based at Naval Station Newport, R.I., home of the Naval War College, Navy … . “They have to be able to show us [they have] the workforce,” Schultz said. The Heritage-class cutter, also known as the Offshore Patrol Cutter and the Maritime Security Cutter, Medium, is one design among several new cutter designs developed as part of the United States Coast Guard Integrated Deepwater System Program. Labor shortages are causing the Coast Guard’s $10.5-billion Offshore Patrol Cutter program to fall 12 months behind schedule and risk running over budget. Ben Werner is a staff writer for USNI News. He has worked as a freelance writer in Busan, South Korea, and as a staff writer covering education and publicly traded companies for The Virginian-Pilot in Norfolk, Va., The State newspaper in Columbia, S.C., Savannah Morning News in Savannah, Ga., and Baltimore Business Journal. An artists rendition of the Coast Guards new Offshore Patrol Cutter originally due to be delivered in Fiscal Year 2021. Beam: 2016 : 54 Feet Naval Institute. An earlier version of this post included an incorrect number of hulls included in the re-compete. 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