The Coast Guard on June 7 awarded four firm fixed-price production contracts to deliver the first test boats for the seven-meter Cutter Boat Over-The-Horizon-IV (CB-OTH-IV) project. The contracts were awarded to MetalCraft Marine U.S. (Clayton, NY), SAFE Boats International (Port Orchard, Wash.), Silver Ships, Inc. (Theodore, Ala.) and William E. Munson Company (Burlington, Wash).
Each awardee will deliver one test boat to the Coast Guard for competitive evaluation beginning fall 2011. At the conclusion of the competition the Coast Guard will select one of the four test boats for additional production and begin operational test and evaluation activities. The selected cutter boat will be used by Coast Guard cutters to perform ports, waterways and coastal security, search and rescue, drug and migrant interdiction, living marine resources, defense readiness and other law enforcement missions. Production orders are scheduled to begin in the second quarter of 2012.
The Coast Guard plans to acquire up to 71 seven-meter CB-OTH-IVs. The acquisition also includes up to 20 boats for Customs and Border Protection and 10 boats for the U.S. Navy, for a total of up to 101 boats.