The Coast Guard last Friday selected two small businesses, Metal Shark Aluminum Boats and Safe Boats International, to compete to provide it with up to 470 Response Boat-Small (RB-S) craft.
The RB-S boats are used a various shore units to perform ports, waterways and coastal security, search and rescue, drug and migrant interdiction, living marine resources, defense readiness and law enforcement missions. The craft operate in shallow waters along coastal borders year round. The are also transportable by either trailer or C-130 aircraft.
In phase one of the evaluation process, the Coast Guard reviewed written proposals from various competitors, which resulted in the selection of Metal Shark and Safe Boats. In the second phase, both firms have been awarded fixed-price, indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contracts requiring them to build at least one boat each for physical testing and evaluation.
Metal Shark’s award is worth up to $193.2 million if it wins the program and Safe Boat’s is worth up to $180.6 million if it wins. The Coast Guard will only select one winner.
In addition to RB-S for the Coast Guard, the contracts include up to 20 boats for Customs and Border Protection and 10 boats for the Navy.
The RB-S will replace existing RB-S and RB-Homeland Security Defender-class boats, both of which were built by Safe Boats.