Cochran Praises $499.8 Million Contract to Build Coast Guard Cutter in Pascagoula

Press Release

U.S. Senator Thad Cochran (R-Miss.), chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriations, today praised the award of a $499.8 million contract to Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. to produce an eighth National Security Cutter (NSC-8) for the U.S. Coast Guard.

The award represents a modification of a U.S. Department of Homeland Security contract with the Ingalls shipyard in Pascagoula, with a total potential value of $499,762,320. The funding was approved by Congress as part of the FY2015 appropriations bill approved in March to fund the Department of Homeland Security, which includes the Coast Guard.

"This contract maintains our commitment to continue equipping the Coast Guard with very effective vessels to improve protection of our nation's coasts and waterways from drug trafficking and illegal immigration," Cochran said. "I am proud of our shipbuilders in Mississippi who continually demonstrate that they can produce highly capable National Security Cutters that allow the Coast Guard to serve us well."

As a member of the Senate Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee, Cochran was instrumental in securing the FY2015 appropriations to fully fund NSC-8 production. He also worked to provide $76.5 million in FY2014 funding for long-lead materials needed to maintain the production line for the construction of the NSC-8.

The long-lead materials funding for the NSC-8, as with previous NSC vessels, was not requested in the President's budget. This funding allows shipbuilders to maintain the efficiencies associated with a one-ship-per-year rate of construction and reduce the cost of NSC production.

The NSC is a 418 foot frigate that is replacing the Coast Guard's fleet of aging ships. The four NSCs currently in service are ensuring that the Coast Guard meets its expanding maritime safety and security demands.

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