Seeking to inject new competition into a shipbuilding program that is nearly half complete, the Coast Guard has released a draft Request for Proposals (RFP) to purchase up to 26 Fast Response Cutters (FRC) to fulfill the requirement for 58 of the patrol boats.
The Coast Guard so far has ordered 24 FRCs from current prime contractor Bollinger Shipyards, which received a potential $1.5 billion to construct and deliver up to 36 of the 154-foot vessels.
Based on previously awarded contract options that were below expectations, the Coast Guard through FY ’14 is only able to award Bollinger an order for six more FRCs, which Congress has appropriated funds for, bringing to 30 the total ships that would be build under the original contract.
Earlier this year, the Coast Guard negotiated a modification with Bollinger allowing the contractor to build two more FRCs with FY ’15 funds, which is in line with the service’s request to Congress. But a House Appropriations panel last week recommended doubling the number of FRCs the Coast Guard can buy in FY ’15 to four and a spokesman for the service’s acquisition directorate told Defense Daily on Monday that if Congress ultimately provides appropriations for four of the vessels in the next fiscal year then the Coast Guard would consider a further modification to Bollinger’s contract to allow it to build four more of the boats.
That means Bollinger could build 34 FRCs, which in turn means that the Coast Guard would only build 24 of the vessels under the Phase II contract, the first option of which is expected to be awarded during FY ’16. The draft RFP says the first option would be for either four or six FRCs.
The Coast Guard has planned all along to recompete the FRC contract. In February 2012 the service awarded Bollinger a $27.2 million contract for the Reprocurement Data Licensing Package (RDLP) that is based on the FRC-B configuration built by Bollinger and forms the design basis for the recompete.
The RDLP contains the design data, drawings, materials list, and technical and testing information needed to compete the follow-on FRC production contract.
The FRC is based on a proven parent craft design provided by Dutch shipbuilder Damen.
The Coast Guard expects a competitive procurement for the Phase II FRC acquisition, the service said in the draft RFP.
Responses to the draft RFP are due by Aug. 14. The responses will help determine the scheduling of the final RFP and the contract award.