(PORTLAND, Conn.) — Birdon America announced Monday that the U.S. Coast Guard has exercised an option for Birdon’s 47-foot motor lifeboat (MLB) Service Life Extension Program (SLEP) contract. This modification extends the term of the contract through order years 6-10 and will allow up to another 72 MLBs to receive significant overhauls and upgrades.
“The unilateral contract modification speaks to the Coast Guard’s confidence in Birdon’s abilities as a major contractor,” said MLB Program Manager Patrick Kinser. “We are fully committed to continuing to deliver high quality boats on schedule to operational units on both coasts.”
In 2019, Birdon was awarded a 10-year contract to perform a 20-year service life extension for the U.S. Coast Guard’s 47-foot motor lifeboat fleet and extend the useful life of the fleet through 2047. Since contract award, Birdon has established full-rate production facilities on both the East and West coasts to facilitate a bi-coastal delivery process.
To date, Birdon has delivered nineteen 47-foot MLBs to operational units, with another 19 currently undergoing SLEP. With the recent modification, up to 117 total vessels can be delivered through 2029 from Birdon’s Bellingham, Wash., and Portland, Conn., facilities.
The 47-foot MLB is the Coast Guard’s primary search and rescue platform, and as an all-weather fast response vessel, it is used to patrol vast areas of the country’s coastline. These vessels are designed to operate in surf up to 20 feet, heavy weather with seas of 30 feet combined with 50-knot winds, and are rollover capable, meaning that if capsized, the vessels self-right and can continue operations.
– Birdon America
