Homeland Security Dept. Cancels Order for Incomplete USCG Cutter
The Department of Homeland Security is reporting that it canceled the order for the eleventh Legend-class national security cutter which was to be named USCG Friedman. Production for the vessel began in 2021 at HII’s Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula, Mississippi, but the project has been dogged by concerns.
Ingalls had a sole source contract as the only builder for the class which began delivering in 2008 and was designed to replace 12 aging 378?foot Hamilton-class high-endurance cutters that have been in service for 40 years. At 418 feet long, the Legend-class NSC has a maximum speed of 28 knots and a range of 12,000 nautical miles. The tenth ship, USCG Calhoun was delivered in October 2023.
Work had begun for number 11 in May 2021. HII reported that the start of fabrication signified the first 100 tons of steel had been cut. USCG said the vessel was due for delivery in 2024 and plans called for it to be homeported in Charleston, South Carolina with four other Legend-class cutters.
“Huntington Ingalls owed us this cutter over a year ago,” said Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. “This project was over time and over budget. Now the money can be redirected to ensuring the Coast Guard remains the finest, most-capable maritime service in the world.”
According to the announcement for Homeland Security, canceling the contract with HII will save the U.S. over $260 million. They have also agreed that the Coast Guard will receive $135 million in parts that will be used to retrofit, upgrade, and maintain the Coast Guard’s existing fleet of 10 Legend-class cutters.
Congress has been highly critical of the USCG’s problems with its shipbuilding projects both for the cutters and the Polar Security Icebreakers. USCG had reported to Congress that there were issues with the project saying that construction of the 11th ship had been halted since at least November 2024 with the ship 15 percent complete. It blamed “material conformance concerns,” and said that the Coast Guard and the shipbuilder were working to resolve the issue.
The Coast Guard has also planned a 12th vessel in the Legand-class. Congress was yet to appropriate funds for the vessel but some long-lead elements were reportedly being ordered.
Homeland Security highlights canceling the project will save money that can be used as part of the recently announced Force Design 2028 project to overhaul USCG operations and command structure. However, it did not address how the USCG will allocate resources for the two planned vessels which were scheduled as replacements for the older class which is now entirely decommissioned. The USCG had deferred the decommissioning of the last two Hamilton-class cutters, John Midget and Douglas Munro, to 2020 and 2021 while the rest of the class was replaced with the new cutters by 2018.