Even though they didn’t provide funding for a 12th National Security Cutter (NSC) in their markup last week of the Department of Homeland Security’s fiscal year 2019 budget request, the Senate Appropriations Committee says it still believes the Coast Guard needs the vessel.

“The Committee continues to believe that the Coast Guard’s fleet of twelve High Endurance Cutters should be replaced with twelve NSCs,” says the committee’s report accompanying its version of the FY ’19 DHS spending bill. “The Committee intends to continue to work with the Coast Guard to understand the costs, operational benefits of, and recommended schedule for acquisition of a twelfth NSC.”

Coast Guard National Security Cutter James (WMSL 754). Photo: Coast Guard
Coast Guard National Security Cutter James (WMSL 754). Photo: Coast Guard

In March, Congress approved an omnibus spending bill for the federal government’s fiscal year 2018 that included two NSCs, the 10th and 11th vessels. The Coast Guard’s program of record was for eight NSCs but Senate appropriators, citing increasing operational requirements levied on the service, have successfully inserted funding for the additional vessels the past few years with a goal of eventually procuring 12.

Huntington Ingalls Industries [HII] is the prime contractor for the NSCs and builds them at its shipyard in Mississippi, home to recently retired Senate Appropriations Chairman Thad Cochran (R) and near current chairman Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.). The Pascagoula, Miss., shipyard is close to the state line with Alabama, where a significant number of shipyard’s workforce resides.

The committee says the Coast Guard is on track to award contracts for the 10th and 11th NSCs on time.

Former Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Paul Zukunft, who retired last month, has lauded the NSC’s operational performance, highlighting that in at least one maiden voyage, a cutter interdicted cocaine with a street value equal to the construction cost of the ship. Construction contracts for the vessels run around $500 million and don’t include long-lead time materials. In March the Coast Guard awarded HII a $94 million contract for long-lead materials for the 10th NSC.

In FY ’17, four NSCs intercepted $2.1 billion worth of cocaine, the report says.

Senate appropriators fully funded the Coast Guard’s $400 million request for its Offshore Patrol Cutter (OPC), which includes funds for the second vessel and long-lead materials for the third. The service plans to buy 25 OPCs.

The committee wants the Coast Guard to evaluate requirements to add a compartmented facility on the OPCs for sensitive information and to examine adding a multimodal radar system as well. Both these items would require “revised design and construction,” the report says.

Eastern Shipbuilding is the prime contractor for the OPC.

The House Appropriations Committee hasn’t marked up its version of the FY ’19 DHS spending bill yet.