Austal USA has started construction on its third US Coast Guard Heritage-class offshore patrol cutter (OPC), the future USCGC Ingham, at the company’s Mobile, Alabama, ship manufacturing facility.
The OPC is designed to replace the US Coast Guard’s aging medium-endurance cutter fleet, bridging the capability gap between National Security Cutters operating in the open ocean and Fast Response Cutters conducting missions closer to shore.
Measuring 110 meters feet in length, the OPC will form the backbone of the Coast Guard’s offshore presence. The cutters will carry out a wide range of missions, including law enforcement, drug and migrant interdiction, and search and rescue operations.
With a range of 10,200 nautical miles at 14 knots and an endurance of up to 60 days, each OPC will be able to operate independently or as part of a task group. The vessels will also serve as mobile command-and-control platforms during surge operations, including hurricane response and mass migration events.
In addition, the cutters will support the Coast Guard’s growing Arctic mission by helping regulate and protect emerging commercial activity and energy exploration in Alaska.
“Each new OPC moving into production demonstrates how far our steel shipbuilding team has come,” Austal USA President Gene Miller said.
“Ingham will give the Coast Guard the endurance, flexibility and offshore capability it needs to protect our nation’s maritime interests. We are committed to building a strong, serial production program for this important class of cutters.”
Austal USA uses a modular construction approach designed to increase production efficiency and allow a high percentage of each module to be outfitted before final assembly. The company’s engineering and production teams also developed a detailed 3D model of the cutter early in the design process to support planning, coordination and construction.
With the start of Ingham, Austal USA has three OPCs under construction: the future USCGC Pickering, USCGC Icarus, and USCGC Ingham.
Together, these cutters anchor Austal USA’s growing steel shipbuilding portfolio, which also currently includes construction of four landing craft utility vessels, three Navajo-class towing, salvage and rescue ships, an auxiliary floating dry dock medium, and submarine modules supporting the Virginia- and Columbia-class submarine programs.
To remind, the shipbuilder recently delivered LCU 1710, marking the first LCU 1700-class vessel ever delivered to the US Navy.