Bollinger Shipyards on Monday said it has completed its acquisition of ST Engineering
’s shipyard and ship repair businesses in Mississippi, adding Coast Guard and Navy shipbuilding programs and expanding its capacity and scale.
“Today marks an important milestone for Bollinger and our 76-year history,” Ben Bordelon, president and CEO of Bollinger, said in a statement. “We’re excited to offer our defense and commercial customers and expanded suite of high-quality capabilities, services and solutions. By combining our skilled workforces in Louisiana and Mississippi, I know there’s no better team in the shipbuilding industry to take on the largest, most complex projects.”
Bollinger, which is based in Lockport, La., paid $15 million for ST Engineering’s VT Halter Marine and ST Engineering Halter Marine Offshore (STEHMO) on a cash-free and debt-free basis. Deal terms also include an earnout provision of up to $10.25 million based on the award of future shipbuilding contracts to Halter Marine and the contracts meeting required operating profit margins.
The two new Bollinger shipyards are located near the Gulf of Mexico.
“Bollinger Mississippi’s deep water access and proximity to the Gulf will allow Bollinger to pursue larger, more complex programs in the future,” Bordelon told Defense Daily in an email response to a question. “However, right now the focus is on integrating the workforce and bringing stability, certainty and reliability to the PSC program.”
Halter Marine is under contract to build the first two of at least three new polar security cutters (PSCs) for the Coast Guard. The PSCs will be the first new heavy icebreakers for the Coast Guard in more than 40 years.
The start of construction on the first new icebreaker has been delayed until the ship’s design is mature enough, the Coast Guard said last week. Halter Marine won the potential $1.9 billion contract for up to three PSCs in April 2019. The first ship had been expected to be delivered in the first half of 2024 but that was pushed back until 2025 due to impacts from COVID and other challenges. Construction and delivery dates are uncertain now due to the design delays.
Halter Marine is also building the Navy’s Auxiliary Personnel Lighter-Small berthing and messing barges and the Coast Guard’s fast response cutters.
Halter Marine has been renamed Bollinger Mississippi Shipbuilding and STEHMO Bollinger Mississippi Repair. The two new Bollinger business units have about 1,200 employees combined.