Horizon to Build Pilot Boat for Iraq

Horizon Shipbuilding, Inc. of Bayou La Batre, Ala., won a contract by the Coalition Provisioning Authority (CPA), Baghdad, Iraq to construct a 70-Ft. Pilot Boat for the port of Umm Qasr, according to Horizon’s President, Travis R. Short. Detailed design and construction will commence immediately.

Horizon recently completed a contract for the U.S. Navy to construct several environmentally safe multi-tier paint floats used in ship maintenance and overhauls. These were delivered to U.S. Naval Stations at Pascagoula, Miss., and Mayport, Fla., and the Norfolk Naval Shipyard in Portsmouth, Va. Current work includes the overhaul and repair of two U.S. Coast Guard Cutters and several high-speed small craft. The Pilot Boat for Iraq will provide jobs for approximately 20 people for the next several months. In the past two years, Horizon has designed and delivered boats and tugs for offshore work and for the towing industry. These included a steel 72-ft. azimuth-drive tow boat, a 200-ft. steel Single Point Mooring Vessel with fully integrated dynamic positioning—one of the largest vessels ever constructed in Bayou La Batre—and two 155-ft. aluminum crew boats.