Fairbanks Morse Defense (FMD) has secured a contract from Birdon to supply fluid control components for the US Coast Guard’s Waterways Commerce Cutter (WCC) program.
The WCC program is a major modernization effort to replace the US Coast Guard’s decades-old fleet of inland buoy and construction tenders.
The new fleet will have up to 30 vessels consisting of three variants: river buoy tenders (WLRs), inland construction tenders (WLICs), and inland buoy tenders (WLIs). Birdon was awarded a contract in 2022 to design and build 16 WLRs and 11 WLICs, and construction on the first vessel is underway at Birdon’s shipyard in Bayou La Batre, Alabama.
The company, through its subsidiary Hunt Valve, will deliver motor-operated valves for the first two vessels.
These units are responsible for maintaining more than 28,000 aids to navigation across 12,000 miles of inland waterways, which are critical routes for the transport of over 630 million tons of cargo annually.
Beyond navigation, the cutters also support search and rescue, environmental protection, marine safety, and port security.
FMD recently completed the purchase of the naval propulsors business from British multinational aerospace and defense company Rolls-Royce. The sale of Rolls-Royce’s naval handling business, located in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada, is expected to close at a later date.