Birdon Receives $14.75 Million Order For WCC Materials

Birdon America Inc., the U.S. arm of Australia-based The Birdon Group which was awarded a contract for the U.S. Coast Guard’s Waterways Commerce Cutter (WCC) program in October 2022, announced July 18 an order from the Coast Guard worth about $14.75 million for long lead time materials for the first two vessels.

In total, the WCC contract is worth just under $1.2 billion for the design and construction of 27 waterways commerce cutters, which will include 16 river buoy tenders (WLRs) and 11 inland construction tenders (WLICs). The recently announced $14.75 million order from the Coast Guard is for long lead time materials required for the first WLR and first WLIC.

Besides the order from the Coast Guard, Birdon also announced the awarding of subcontracts with seven companies related to the WCC program. According to Birdon, subcontract recipients include LED Lighting Systems of Temecula, Calif.; EVAC of Cherry Hill, Ill.; Donovan Marine of Harahan, La.; MINO Marine of New Orleans; Noise Control Engineering of Bellerica, Mass.; ALE of Columbus, Ohio; and Pittsburgh-based Patterson.

“Birdon’s approach to the WCC contract is driven by our commitment to meeting the needs of the Coast Guard, delivering consistent quality and value, and minimizing risk,” said Rob Scott, president of Birdon America. “Birdon’s commitment means we own every challenge, take responsibility for implementing a solution, and we never make it someone else’s problem to fix—and that commitment is why we are going to be able to start construction on the first WCC vessels early next year. We look forward to this exciting next phase.”

In February, Birdon announced the acquisition of Metal Shark Boats’ 32-acre shipyard in Bayou La Batre, Ala., which will allow “our subcontract partners in southern Alabama to build and install all components of these vessels in one location,” Birdon Group CEO Jamie Bruce said at the time, referencing the WCC program.

The Coast Guard’s waterways commerce cutters place and maintain aids to navigation (including buoys), drive and remove piles, and erect and repair range towers and lights in coastal waters and inland waterways. The Coast Guard has a current fleet of 35 waterways commerce cutters. According to a report by the Congressional Research Service (CRS), 25 of the existing waterways commerce cutters date to between 1960 and 1970. Two are World War II-era vessels.

The Coast Guard first included the WCC program in its fiscal year 2018 budget. The agency’s fiscal year 2025 budget request includes $135 million in procurement funding for the WCC program, along with an unfunded priorities list item requesting $40 million “in additional procurement funding for accelerating WCC production,” according to the CRS report.

“The Coast Guard wants to have the first new WCC [to] be in service by 2025,” the CRS report, dated July 10, stated.

According to the Coast Guard’s Acquisition Directorate, the river buoy tenders will be 180 feet long, while the inland construction tenders will measure 160 feet long. The WCC program calls for 16 river buoy tenders and 11 inland construction tenders. The Coast Guard also plans to build three inland buoy tenders (WLIs), which are not part of the Birdon-awarded WCC program.