Within weeks, the U.S. Coast Guard will award an exclusive contract to one of three U.S.- based shipbuilders to build its first batch of offshore patrol cutters.

Bath Iron Works was one of three shipyards selected to conduct preliminary design work on the vessel in February 2014, the other two being Bollinger Shipyards Lockport LLC in Louisiana and Eastern Shipbuilding Group Inc in Florida. Only one shipyard, however, will receive an award to build the first nine to 11 cutters for the Coast Guard in this winner take-all bid.

The initial design work has been completed and the bids have been submitted — all that’s left now is for the Coast Guard to announce who will win the contract.

“We worked hard to submit a bid to the Coast Guard which we hope will be competitive enough to prevail over two other smaller, more nimble shipbuilder,” said BIW President Fred Harris in an August company newsletter.

Bath Iron Works, the largest of the three shipyards competing for the bid, has worked hard to cut costs in order to make a more affordable and competitive bid. Over the winter, the shipyard negotiated a new contract with its largest union, the Local S6, in order to tamp down costs.

“Our ability to offer a realistic and strong bid was a direct result of the progress we made working together with Local S6 to make important changes here at BIW,” said Harris. “The changes we have made and continue to implement have helped to position us not only for the OPC Program, but also for the next DDG 51 Multiyear competition.”

DDG 51 refers to the Arleigh Burke, the first of its class of destroyers, many of which are built for the Navy at the shipyard.

While the Coast Guard contract could offer increased work and continued stability for BIW, the failure to secure it would lead to workforce reduction, according to a BIW-operated website tracking the issue.

“I believe the next year will be vital to BIW’s future with the upcoming decision from the Coast Guard on the OPC program as well as the next multi year award of DDG51’s from the Navy on the not too distant horizon,” said Local S6 President Richard Nolon in July.

The OPC program is part of a significant modernization of the Coast Guard’s fleet, wherein they are replacing 90 aging vessels. The plan calls for eight National Security Cutters, 25 Offshore Patrol Cutters, and 58 Fast Response Cutters.

A fact sheet provided by the Coast Guard notes that the offshore cutter is “the Coast Guard’s highest investment priority.” That vessel will fulfill a capability gap between the larger, general purpose National Security Cutter and the smaller, less expensive Fast Response Cutters.

“The OPC will be the backbone of Coast Guard offshore presence and the manifestation of our at-sea authorities. It is essential to stopping smugglers at sea, for interdicting undocumented migrants, rescuing mariners, enforcing fisheries laws, responding to disasters and protecting our ports,” said USCG Commandant Admiral Paul Zukunft in written testimony for a Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries and Coast Guard in April 2015.

Shipyards have already begun construction of and delivered several NSC and FRC, making the Offshore Patrol Cutter the final program to begin work, with the first OPC to be procured in 2018.

According to a background paper prepared by the Congressional Research Service, the 25 total Offshore Patrol Cutter planned will replace 29 aging cutters at an estimated average cost of about $310 million per ship, once cost factors such as logistics and program management are removed.

While prior reports had indicated that the Coast Guard would award the contract in August of this year, a Coast Guard spokesperson would neither confirm nor deny that timeframe, only affirming that the award would be announced before the end of November.

nstrout@timesrecord.com