The Coast Guard today will take delivery of the first National Security Cutter, the CGC Bertholf (WMSL-750), weeks following the ship’s successful completion of acceptance trials.
The Bertholf will be turned over to the Coast Guard and be placed in an “In-Commission Special” status, once the crew is aboard the 418-foot cutter, according to the Coast Guard.
Bertholf, built by the Deepwater Integrated Coast Guard System (ICGS), will then enter a post-delivery period of approximately 22 to 24 months, during which crew training, operational evaluation and certification, and regularly scheduled maintenance availabilities will occur to ensure it meets all performance and operational requirements, according to the Coast Guard.
Lockheed Martin [LMT] and Northrop Grumman [NOC] partnered to create the Deepwater ICGS. Bertholf was built at Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding’s Pascagoula, Miss., shipyard.