A controversial order for a patrol vessel under construction at Ingalls Shipbuilding (IS), a subsidiary of Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII), the largest U.S. defense shipbuilder, has been canceled.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has announced that it has canceled the construction of the 11th Legend-class patrol vessel by Ingalls Shipbuilding, which was to be named USS Friedman (WMSL-760). Ingalls Shipbuilding is the sole builder of Legend-class patrol vessels in the United States.
According to the announcement by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the withdrawal will save the United States more than $260 million in expenditures. In conjunction with the announcement of the deobligation, the U.S. Coast Guard will receive $135 million to refit, upgrade and maintain the existing 10 Legend-class patrol vessels.
Regarding the cancellation of the order, U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem said: “HII should have delivered this patrol vessel more than a year ago. The project has been overdue and overcost, and now the saved funds can be reallocated to ensure that the Coast Guard continues to be the best and most powerful maritime law enforcement agency in the world.”
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has emphasized that savings from the cancellation of the 11th Legend-class patrol vessel could be used for the recently announced Force Design 2028 program to overhaul U.S. Coast Guard operations and command structure. However, the department did not specify how the U.S. Coast Guard would allocate resources for the two planned vessels.
Public information shows that the “Legend” class patrol vessel, also known as the National Security Cutter (NSC), with a total length of about 127.4 meters, a width of about 16.5 meters, a standard displacement of 3,257 tons, a fully loaded displacement of 4,178 tons, a maximum speed of 28 knots and a range of 12,000 nautical miles.
Deliveries of this class of patrol vessels began in 2008 to replace the Hamilton-class patrol vessels commissioned in the 1960s to serve the U.S. Coast Guard in maritime law enforcement, search and rescue, and support of U.S. Navy military operations.
This announcement of the termination of construction of ship 11, Friedman, was ordered at the same time as ship 10, Calhoun, on December 21, 2018.Ship 10 was delivered in October 2023.
The 11th vessel “Friedman” and the 10th ship “Calhoun” were ordered at the same time on December 21, 2018. The 10th vessel was delivered in October 2023.
In May 2021, the 11th vessel officially broke ground at Ingalls Shipbuilding; in November, the construction schedule was 15 percent complete. However, delivery of the 11th vessel, originally scheduled for 2024, has been stalled since November 2021, and plans to co-deploy with four other patrol vessels of the same class in Charleston Harbor, South Carolina, have ultimately fallen through.
Previously, the U.S. Coast Guard reported to the U.S. Congress that the 11th “Legend” patrol vessel project had “material compliance issues” and said it was working with the captain to resolve the problem. The U.S. Congress also strongly criticized the Coast Guard for the problems encountered in the patrol vessel and polar security icebreaker construction projects.
It is worth noting that the U.S. Coast Guard is planning to build a 12th Legend-class patrol vessel, but has not yet received Congressional appropriations. However. Some long-lead time items are reportedly on order.