The following is the text of a news release from Bay Shipbuilding Co.:
(WASHINGTON) — Fincantieri Marine Group (FMG) subsidiary Bay Shipbuilding Co. (BSC) of Sturgeon Bay, Wis., has been awarded a USCG contract for dry-dock repairs to the United States Coast Guard cutter Hollyhock (WLB-21) and a second USCG repair and sustainment contract for the icebreaker Mackinaw (WLBB-30).
“We are extremely pleased with both of these new contracts which are a testament to the very fine work performed by the BSC shipbuilding team over our long association with the United States Coast Guard,” said FMG President and CEO Francesco Valente. “Fincantieri’s recent capital investment in BSC, including the construction of a United States Navy-certified floating dry dock, will be instrumental to the repairs.”
Hollyhock is a Juniper-class seagoing buoy tender measuring 225 feet long. Mackinaw is a 240-foot heavy icebreaker for operations on the Great Lakes. Both ships were built by FMG subsidiary, Marinette Marine Corp. (MMC) and launched in January 2003 and November 2005 respectively. Hollyhock's primary missions are maintenance of aids to navigation, as well as search and rescue, environmental protection and icebreaking. Mackinaw is primarily engaged in keeping the sea lanes clear of ice although it also serves as an aids-to-navigation ship.
In May 2014, Sturgeon Bay was officially designated as a Coast Guard City. Sturgeon Bay, which has a 140-year relationship with the Coast Guard and its predecessor services, is now one of 16 cities designated by Congress with that distinction for support shown to the men and women of the Coast Guard.
Fincantieri Marine Group is the U.S. subsidiary of Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri SpA, which employs nearly 21,000 skilled shipbuilding personnel in 21 yards on four continents and has a 200-year history of building more than 7,000 ships.
