Coast Guard Cutter Waesche, the second 418-foot national security cutter (NSC), serves as an operational-level headquarters for complex law enforcement, defense and national security missions. The NSCs feature aviation support facilities; stern cutter boat launch; and long-endurance station keeping. U.S. Coast Guard photo.

Coast Guard Exercises Structural Enhancement Option For Second NSC

July 14, 2017

The Coast Guard exercised a contract option, worth $14 million, with Vigor Marine LLC for the structural enhancement drydock availability (SEDA) for the second national security cutter (NSC), Coast Guard Cutter Waesche, July 13. These structural enhancements will prevent long-term fatigue damage, which would result in additional life cycle maintenance costs.

The contracted work will be completed in Seattle.

Waesche is slated to arrive at the contractor’s shipyard in September. The SEDA work will take approximately one year. Work on Coast Guard Cutter Bertholf, the first NSC to undergo SEDA, began in September 2016 and will be completed by this fall.

It was determined during the early stages of NSC production that structural modifications would need to be incorporated into the cutters’ design in order to achieve a 30-year design fatigue life. The Coast Guard and the shipbuilder completed additional analyses and engineering efforts to address the fatigue life concerns, resulting in the incorporation of structural enhancements into regular production during the construction of the third NSC, Coast Guard Cutter Stratton. Stratton and all subsequent NSCs have the enhancements already installed. Coast Guard cutters Bertholf and Waesche were unable to receive the structural enhancements during production due to construction timelines.

The detail design and planning phase for SEDA involved development of detailed drawings and engineering work packages for the structural enhancement and established the schedule and approach for the repair execution phase.

Six NSCs are in service, with four based in Alameda, California, and two in Charleston, South Carolina. The seventh and eighth NSCs, Kimball and Midgett, will be stationed in Honolulu. The Kimball was christened in March 2017 and is scheduled for delivery in 2018. The Midgett will be christened in December 2017 and is scheduled for delivery in 2019.

For more information: National Security Cutter program page