Longstanding OSV builder looking to diversify

摘要

In February, the US Coast Guard awarded Eastern Shipbuilding Group and two other shipyards approximately US$22 million each to design prototypes of the 'next generation' of its offshore patrol cutter (OPC). The design will be smaller than the national security cutter (NSC) in the US Coast Guard fleet, but technologically far superior. The US Coast Guard culled the three finalists from eight yards evaluated. The US Coast Guard project could turn out to be the biggest money-spinner in the 38-year-old Eastern Shipbuilding Group's history, not to mention a bonanza for local municipalities and counties in Florida. The successful designer stands to gain a multibillion dollar contract, which envisages 25 cutters (11 plus 14 options) - a project big enough to keep Eastern and its workforce potentially busy until 2040. A final decision on the winning shipbuilder is expected in 2015.