Meet the Near Coastal Patrol Vessel (NCPV), an 85-foot Damen 2606 design to be built in Louisiana for about $4.1 million a pop
Jeanerette, Louisiana-based Metal Shark just picked up a U.S. Navy contract to build Near Coastal Patrol Vessels (NCPVs) for United States partner nations through the Department of Defense Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program.
Metal Shark’s proposal was selected by Naval Sea Systems Command from a field of six competing shipyards.
Under the terms of the award, potentially worth upwards of $54 million, Metal Shark will build up to 13 85-foot Defiant-class welded aluminum cutters for the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Honduras, Costa Rica, Guatemala, and other United States partner nations. Additionally, Metal Shark will supply electro-optical infrared sensors, diagnostic equipment, in-country reactivation, crew familiarization, and test support to NCPV operators.
The new vessels are based on Damen Shipyards’ Stan Patrol 2606 design, tailored by Metal Shark to suit the requirements of the NCPV mission. The versatile cutter can accommodate a wide range of mission profiles including search and rescue, border patrol, police and customs duties, counter-narcotics operations, and securing waters of economic importance.
The company is also building 18 45-foot welded-aluminum patrol boats under FMS for the Vietnam Coast Guard, the first of which were delivered last month.
Curiously, Bollinger, also based in Louisiana, has built 73 87-foot Marine Protector class patrol boats (based on the Damen STAN 2600 design developed for the Hong Kong police) for the USCG, as well as a four-pack for the navies of Malta and Yemen at a price of $3.5 million each. Sure, there is likely some inflation that can be added to that but it would seem like the trade off is there for greater interoperability, especially on SOUTHCOM/Coast Guard Tradewinds missions.
