Swiftships Shipbuilders Gets $181M for Iraqi Navy Patrol Boats
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Swiftships Shipbuilders in Morgan City, LA received a $181 million fixed-price letter contract for the design and construction of 9 patrol boats and associated equipment and services for the Iraqi Navy.
The contract is for Swiftships 35-meter coastal patrol boats (CPBs) along with 6 30mm gun weapons systems, machine gun mounts and cradles, spare parts, and contractor engineering technical services.
Swiftships’ 35-meter patrol boat is a triple-waterjet diesel powered vessel…
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The 35-meter patrol boat hull and superstructure are of aluminum alloy. This vessel is designed to operate in coastal waters out to approximately 200 miles from shore. The boat can accommodate 8 crew members and 4 officers.
This contract is in support of Foreign Military Sales (FMS) Case IQ –P-SAZ and U.S. Case E4-P-LBT. The original solicitation was for up to 15 patrol boats.
Funds for 6 of the boats comes from the Iraqi Security Force Funds (ISFF) appropriated in the FY 2007 war supplemental. The ISFF program manages the purchase of defense equipment for Iraq.
The 35-meter patrol boat contract is part of a larger program, which also delivers spare parts, guns, ammunition, training, naval simulators and infrastructure to the Umm Qasr Naval Base in southern Iraq. To expand capabilities at the naval base, the US Army Corps of Engineers is partnering with Iraq by managing a $53 million pier and seawall project. The new project in southern Iraq will provide the Iraqi Navy with new port facilities as it continues to expand its military naval capabilities.
The total program for the Iraqi Navy is the 3rd largest case of foreign military sales to Iraq, according to the Bullhorn, the newsletter of the Pensacola Council of the Navy League.
Swiftships will perform the work in Morgan City, LA (60%); Detroit, MI (30%); Ocean Springs, MS (8%); and Charlottesville, VA (2%) and expects to complete it by August 2012. This contract was not competitively procured. The Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) manages the contract (N00024-09-C-2256).
