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Pascagoula, Miss., May 14, 2020 - Halter Marine Inc., a company of ST Engineering North America, cut the first plate of steel on the fourth Auxiliary Personnel Lighter–Small (APL(S)) that the company is designing and building for the U.S. Navy. The contract award is $39,906,609 for a firm, fixed-price option for the detail design and construction of the vessel.

Halter Marine is currently constructing the first three APLs. In September 2018, the company received the initial contract to design and build two units, with options for four additional units. Construction on the fourth vessel is expected to be complete in the summer of 2021. The company expects to deliver the first two APLs this fall; the third vessel is due to be delivered in the first quarter of 2021.

“It’s a very exciting time to walk through the Halter Marine shipyard and see two nearly complete APLs, a third that is progressing nicely and now we’ve cut steel on the fourth,” said Ron Baczkowski, President and CEO. “By the end of this year, the women and men of the U.S. Navy will be able to bunk on the first two barges. Everyone at Halter Marine is proud to support U.S. Navy readiness and its ships crews’ morale and welfare by building these vessels.”

The initial contract was for the detail design and construction of the first and second APL with an option for four additional vessel. Construction of all APLs craft is firm, fixed-price. Should the Navy exercise all of the options with associated supplies and services, the total contract award would be in excess of $244 million.

APLs–also referred to as berthing barges–are used by the Navy to house crewmembers when ships are in port for availabilities and Inter-Deployment Training Cycles. The barges are mobile and can be towed to new bases or shipyards to support changing fleet requirements and also offer potential use for humanitarian missions and other temporary assignments.

The vessels are 82 meters long x 20.95 meters wide x 2.2 meters draft. Additionally, they are capable of seating 228 enlisted personnel and 56 officers for each meal. Each vessel is equipped with offices, classrooms, washrooms, laundry facilities, medical treatment areas, barber shop and fitness center. The vessels are being fitted with mixed gender berthing spaces for 74 officers and 537 enlisted personnel, for a total of 611 people.

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VT Halter Marine, the marine operations of ST Engineering North America, is based in Pascagoula, Miss., and is a leader in the design and construction of medium-sized ships in the United States. VT Halter Marine designs, builds and repairs a wide variety of ocean-going vessels such as patrol vessels, oil recovery vessels, oil cargo vessels, ferries, logistic support vessels, auxiliaries, and research and survey vessels. Please visit www.vthaltermarine.com.

ST Engineering North America is the U.S. headquarters of ST Engineering, a global technology and engineering group, providing integrated solutions to the commercial and government markets in the aerospace, electronics, land systems, and marine sectors. Within the US, we have major operations in 17 cities across 13 states and more than 5,000 employees, providing innovative products and services across these diverse market segments.

Media contacts:

Liz Johnson
Marketing and Communications Manager
Halter Marine
Phone: (1) 228.696.6821
Email: corporatecommunications@vthaltermarine.com

Guy Shields
Director, Corporate Communications
ST Engineering North America
Phone: (1) 703.399.2769
Email: Guy.SHIELDS@stengg.us

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