The Coast Guard last week awarded small contracts to four firms for each to deliver a boat as part of a competitive evaluation under the Cutter Boat Over-The-Horizon-IV (CB-OTH-IV) program.
MetalCraft Marine US, SAFE Boats International, Silver Ships, Inc., and William E. Munson Co. each received a contract valued at slightly more than $400,000 to construct and deliver their respective entries for the CB-OTH-IV competition. Deliveries for the competitive “Boat Off” are expected by late October.
Under current plans, the Coast Guard will buy up to 71 CB-OTH-IVs, Customs and Border Protection 20 and the Navy 10, for a total cost of $59 million. The current schedule calls for production orders to begin in the second quarter of 2012.
The CB-OTH-IV will support missions of the National Security Cutter and potentially the Fast Response Cutter as well as be able to conduct independent operations. The small boats will perform ports, waterways and coastal security, search and rescue, drug and migrant interdiction, living marine resources, defense readiness and other law enforcement missions.