Lockport , LA., December 18, 2009 -
Bollinger Shipyards, Inc. announced today that it was awarded a contract
valued at over $142,000,000 to build an additional three SENTINEL Class, 154
foot patrol boats, for the U. S. Coast Guard. The initial contract for the
design and construction of the lead ship in the class was awarded to Bollinger
in September 2008. Under the current contract options, the Coast Guard can buy
up to thirty-four patrol boats with Bollinger for a total value of over $1.6
Billion. 
The SENTINEL Class cutters will replace the 110
foot ISLAND Class that Bollinger built in the 1980’s. Chris Bollinger, Executive
Vice President of New Construction for Bollinger Shipyards said, "We are very
pleased with this award and very proud to continue to build patrol boats for the
Coast Guard.” Bollinger has built every patrol boat in the U. S. Coast Guard’s
fleet. This award will increase the total number of Coast Guard patrol
boats that Bollinger has built to one hundred and twenty six in the last quarter
century. "This is really a tribute to our design team and our shipyard workers
who have proven themselves to be the best. These new cutters will provide the
Coast Guard with more capability than the Coast Guard has ever had, and they
need the best to perform their missions”, said Bollinger. Vessels are scheduled
to be built at Bollinger’s Lockport, Louisiana facility.
The cutters will have a top speed over twenty-eight knots and will be able to
perform seven day patrols with their crew of twenty-two. The cutter will also
have a 40 knot rigid inflatable boat, RIB, that can be rapidly deployed using an
innovative stern launching system that was first presented to the Coast Guard by
Bollinger aboard the 87 foot MARINE PROTECTOR class cutters.
Bollinger Shipyards, Inc., (www.bollingershipyards.com) owns
and operates 12 shipyards strategically located between New Orleans and Houston
with direct access to the Gulf of Mexico, Mississippi River and Intracoastal
Waterway. Bollinger is a leading provider of new construction and other
services to offshore energy, commercial and government marine markets and is the
largest vessel repair/conversion company in the Gulf of Mexico region with a
total of 32 dry-docks in Louisiana and Texas.
