Eastern Shipbuilding Group News

Austal USA held a ceremony marking the official start of construction on the first U.S. Coast Guard Heritage-class Offshore Patrol Cutter (OPC) to be built at its Mobile, Ala., shipyard. The vessel, named Pickering (WSMM 919), is the lead vessel in a series potentially comprising up to 11 cutters under a contract valued at $3.3 billion.Designed at 360 feet in length, the OPC program is set to replace the Coast Guard's aging medium endurance cutters, filling a crucial role between the open-ocean national security cutters and the coastal fast response cutters.

Royal Van der Leun, based in the Netherlands, announced it will supply equipment for a new hopper dredge being built by Eastern Shipbuilding Group in Panama City, Fla., for the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE).Scheduled for delivery in 2027, the 320-foot vessel, with a hopper capacity of 6,000 cubic yards will join the USACE’s Ready Reserve Fleet, replacing the USACE Philadelphia District's high-powered deep draft hopper dredge McFarland, built in 1967.For the design, Eastern worked with longtime partner Royal IHC, headquartered in the Netherlands.

A few weeks ago, a U.S. Coast Guard cutter spotted several Chinese military ships within the U.S. exclusive economic zone just 200 nautical miles off the shores of Alaska. This incident underscores how brazen our adversaries are becoming in the face of a diminished U.S. maritime presence. China’s brazen actions are backed by the world’s largest naval fleet that they have accumulated over the past several years while our maritime capacity has declined. There is a real threat that…

Eastern Shipbuilding Group (ESG) on Monday announced it has been awarded a contract to construct four new escort tugs for Saltchuk Marine's Foss Maritime. The vessels will be built at ESG’s Allanton and Port St. Joe facilities, in Florida, with delivery expected in 2026.The order marks the beginning of Saltchuk Marine’s long-term fleet renewal project, with the new tugs set to support West Coast port operations and comply with EPA Tier 4 and California Air Resources Board (CARB) environmental requirements.The newbuilds will be RApport 2600 ship assist/escort tugs designed by Robert Allan Ltd.

Eastern Shipbuilding Group (ESG) won a contract to build a new auto and passenger ferry for the Fisher Island Community Association, Inc. (FICA) in Florida. The vessel will be built at ESG’s Allanton and Port St. Joe facilities and is expected for delivery in Spring 2026.“Eastern Shipbuilding Group (ESG) delivered the vehicle passenger ferry HERON to the Fisher Island Community Association, Inc. (FICA) over 20 years ago, and we understand that she has been the most reliable ferry in their fleet.

Eastern Shipbuilding Group, Inc. (ESG) commenced phase two of a itsinfrastructure improvement project at its Nelson Street government shipbuilding facility, a phase which includes the construction of 1,000 linear feet of additional bulkhead and berthing space, installation of associated heavy weather mooring infrastructure, the extension of the launch facility by 120 feet to increase the total launch way length to over 500 feet, and the final dredging of vessel berthing spaces…

The first of two incomplete ultra high-spec multipurpose support vessels (MPSV) has arrived at Eastern Shipbuilding Group's Port St. Joe Shipyard, where the builder will finish constructing the vessel for Hornbeck Offshore Services.Earlier this year, Eastern secured a contract to complete construction of the two 400 class MPSVs after Hornbeck terminated the original build contracts with Gulf Island Shipyards in Houma, La. in 2018 over what it described as "performance issues".

Eastern Shipbuilding Group (ESG) on Friday held a launch and christening ceremony for the ferry Long Island at its Allanton Shipyard in Panama City, Fla.Scheduled to be delivered later this year, the new Subchapter H passenger and auto ferry is being built for Bridgeport & Port Jefferson Steamboat Company, a subsidiary of McAllister Towing, for operations between Bridgeport, Conn., and Port Jefferson, N.Y., traversing the Long Island Sound. The vessel was christened by Rosemary McAllister…

If nothing else, building vessels in the U.S. is a complicated business.In a session on the domestic shipbuilding marketplace, at Marine Money’s late-November 2023 conference held in New Orleans, Ben Bordelon, president and CEO of Bollinger Shipyards (with more than a dozen facilities, in Mississippi and Louisiana), described his company’s architecture as a “three-legged stool approach: commercial newbuilds, government newbuilds and repair/conversion capabilities”.On the same panel…

U.S. shipbuilder Eastern Shipbuilding Group, Inc (ESG) on Wednesday announced it is teaming up with Dutch shipbuilding group Royal IHC to design and construct a highly automated hopper dredge for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE).The diesel-electric vessel, contracted for the Department of Defense, will be constructed at ESG's Allanton and Port St. Joe facilities in Florida for scheduled delivery in 2027.The new 6,000-cubic-yard-capacity medium-class hopper dredge (MCHD) will be based at the Corps’ Philadelphia District…

Panama City Fla. based Eastern Shipbuilding Group announced it has been awarded a contract to complete construction of two ultra high-spec 400 class multipurpose support vessels (MPSVs) for Hornbeck Offshore Services (HOS).The newbuilds were originally started by Gulf Island Shipyards in Houma, La. before Hornbeck terminated the contracts in 2018 over what it described as "performance issues". Gulf Island then sued Hornbeck, claiming the two shipyard construction contracts were wrongfully terminated.

The much-needed replacement for the U.S. Coast Guard’s long-serving medium endurance cutters (WMEC) took a giant step closer to joining the fleet as the first Offshore Patrol Cutter (OPC) was launched and christened at Eastern Shipbuilding Group (ESG) in Panama City, Fla. on October 27, 2023.The future USCGC Argus (WMSM 915) was christened by the ship’s sponsor, Captain (Ret.) Beverly Kelley, the first woman to command a U.S. military vessel, the 95-foot patrol boat, USCGC Cape Newagen (WPB 95318).

The November edition of Marine News magazine highlighted a selection of the most notable American newbuilds delivered of 2023—from a first-of-its-kind green towboat, to the lead vessel in a series of game-changing ships to train U.S. mariners.Empire StateAs the lead vessel in a series of five new training ships being constructed to serve America's state maritime academies, Empire State is easily one of the most important U.S.-built vessels delivered in recent memory.Built by Philly Shipyard for the U.S.

The lead ship in the U.S. Coast Guard's Heritage-class Offshore Patrol Cutter (OPC) program, USCGC Argus (WMSM-915), was launched and christened during a ceremony at Eastern Shipbuilding Group's Nelson St. Shipyard in Panama City, Fla.Attended by more than 3,000 guests, the event featured a keynote address delivered by Admiral Linda Fagan, Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard.“The Offshore Patrol Cutter (OPC) is one of the service’s highest acquisition priorities and is absolutely…

Florida-based Eastern Shipbuilding Group announced on Tuesday it has received a notice to proceed after winning a contract to design and build a new hopper dredge for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE).The 6,000-cubic-yard-capacity diesel-electric dredge will be constructed at Eastern’s Allanton and Port St. Joe facilities and is scheduled for delivery in 2027, the builder said.The new medium-class hopper dredge (MCHD) will be based at the Corps’ Philadelphia District, replacing the 57-year-old McFarland…

It’s a big deal when a U.S. president visits an American shipyard, and these trips always send a message. When President Obama spoke at HII’s Newport News Shipbuilding in 2013, he warned of the consequences of sequestration. President Trump’s 2020 speech at Fincantieri Marinette Marine touted a $5.5 billion naval contract that gave a welcome boost to the Wisconsin shipyard and its supply chain partners. Most recently, President Biden traveled to Philadelphia’s Philly Shipyard…

The IMO’s latest crunch meeting in early July may not have aligned global shipping with mid-century targets established in the 2015 Paris Agreement. However, its 2023 Strategy indicates a clear direction of travel. Energy supplies by sea are essential for many countries and therefore ships have a key role in supporting the world’s energy transition – not only on their own account, but at a global level.As world shipping accounts for about 3% of greenhouse gas emissions, its environmental importance attracts wide attention. And plenty of criticism.

Marine Aluminium AS has won a contract to supply the U.S. offshore vessel firm Hornbeck Offshore Services a helideck for its new conversion project. The 21-meter helideck has a landing capacity of up to Sikorsky S-92-sized helicopters.As previously reported by Offshore Engineer, Hornbeck Offshore will convert one of its recently acquired 280-foot offshore supply vessels (OSV) to a service operation vessel (SOV) to meet the growing demand of the U.S. offshore wind market, as well as to serve the demands of the offshore flotel market.

Panama City, Fla. based Eastern Shipbuilding Group has been awarded a contract to design and build a new hopper dredge for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.The $256,955,264 firm-fixed-price contract will see Eastern design and build the new medium-class hopper dredge (MCHD) for scheduled delivery in August 2027. Eastern was one of three bidders for the project.The new 6,000-cubic-yard-capacity hopper dredge will replace the USACE Philadelphia District's high-powered deep draft hopper dredge McFarland, built in 1967.

With a lame-duck CNO, a divided Congress and the impending launch of the next Presidential election cycle, America’s naval market is locked into something of a fragile and fearful autopilot, cruising inexorably towards whatever excitement 2024 might bring.Materially, don’t expect much change: The demand for naval platforms will continue to outstrip available funding, meaning there will be little movement or growth in America’s major shipbuilding programs of record. The procurement outlines are already set.

U.S. offshore vessel owner Hornbeck Offshore Services, best known for its offshore oil and gas support vessel services, is looking at business opportunities in the growing U.S. offshore wind sector as well as in offshore accommodation services in the oil and gas area.For that, Covington, La. based Hornbeck Offshore said Wednesday it had contracted Eastern Shipbuilding Group to convert one of its recently acquired 280-foot offshore supply vessels (OSV) to a service operation vessel (SOV) to meet the growing demand of the U.S.

The Shipbuilders Council of America (SCA), the national association representing the U.S. shipbuilding, maintenance and repair industry, announced its yearly member safety awards for 2023.“Workforce health and safety is embedded into the fabric of our industry because the teams that work in our shipyards and throughout the industrial base are the most important asset we have in building and repairing the U.S. commercial and military fleets,” said Matthew Paxton, president of the Shipbuilders Council of America.

Eastern Shipbuilding Group, Inc. (ESG) on Monday announced the delivery of R.B. Weeks, a 8,550 cubic yard capacity trailing suction hopper dredge constructed for Weeks Marine, Inc.“It’s our pleasure to once again deliver a quality vessel on time and on budget to our valued customers at Weeks Marine, Inc.,” said Joey D’Isernia, president of Eastern Shipbuilding Group, Inc. “The R.B. Weeks joins an impressive fleet that works alongside the Army Corps of Engineers to preserve our treasured waterways.”Despite building the vessel through the height of the COVID pandemic…