Aug. 29, 2025 —
Preliminary design of the second-generation trailerable aids to navigation boat. Rendering courtesy of Inventech Marine Solutions.
The Coast Guard Office of Boat Forces awarded a contract Aug. 27 to Inventech Marine Solutions to build up to 89 second-generation trailerable aids to navigation boats (TANB II) to replace the existing trailerable aids to navigation boats (TANB), which were introduced in 2006 and are at the end of their planned service lives. Coast Guard aids to navigation teams use the TANB to place, retrieve and maintain smaller buoys; provide support for fixed navigation aids; and for transferring crews and equipment to remote shore-based equipment. TANBs can be trailered to boat ramps, which can reduce transit times and allow for faster responses to aid discrepancies.
The firm fixed-price, indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contract, valued at approximately $36 million, has a period of performance that extends through August 2032. The TANB II is based on a proven 27-foot parent craft design. The boats include an aluminum hull, a forward working deck, and a partially enclosed cabin that seats four crewmembers. The TANB II will be powered by twin outboards and outfitted with standard Coast Guard navigation and communication electronics. The TANB II will have the ability to tend buoys from the bow and alongside, and for the crew to access fixed aids from the top of the cabin.
The capability provided by the TANB II will enhance the Coast Guard’s ability to safeguard the vital waterways of the Nation’s Maritime Transportation System, which supports more than $5.4 trillion in economic activity every year.