ST Engineering unit awarded second US Coast Guard Polar Security Cutter contract

HALTER Marine, ST Engineering's S63 shipbuilding business in Pascagoula, Mississippi, has been awarded a second Polar Security Cutter (PSC) contract by the US Department of the Navy.

In a press statement on Thursday (Dec 30), ST Engineering said the fixed-price incentive-firm contract will be for a second US Coast Guard (USCG) PSC, with Halter Marine as the prime contractor.

The PSC is a multi-year Department of Homeland Security Level 1 investment. It is a USCG major system initiative to acquire up to 3 multi-mission PSCs to recapitalise the USCG's PSC fleet.

ST Engineering said the PSC will fill a "current, definitive need" for the Coast Guard statutory mission of polar ice-breaking. This initiative is also expected to meet other mission needs in the higher latitudes which are "vital to the economic vitality, scientific inquiry and national interests of the US", added the group.

The latest contract comes after the USCG's US$1.9 billion initiative was announced in 2019.

Halter Marine was initially awarded a US$745.9 million contract for the design and construction of a heavy polar icebreaker for USCG. It included options for the building of 2 additional ships, which if exercised, would bring the total contract value to US$1.9 billion.

Shares of ST Engineering were trading flat at S$3.76 as at 10.57 am on Thursday, after the announcement was made.