CG cutter competition heating up

BATH, Maine – At Bath Iron Works’ sprawling shipyard, workers are building five Navy destroyers, but talk is about potential job losses. Hundreds of new hires have pushed BIW’s employment rolls to the highest in years. But, leaner times may be on the horizon. Managers at the General Dynamics-owned shipyard are warning that less Navy work ahead could eliminate up to 1,200 jobs. The prospect has BIW feverishly looking for ways to cut costs. Eyes are focusing on a “must win” contract to build Coast Guard cutters. BIW’s lone customer has been the Navy. BIW President Fred Harris alarmed union leadership this fall by announcing a formal process to outsource some of the shipyard work – to reduce costs. Union leaders insist lowering costs can be accomplished if the company provides laborers accurate designs and ensures materials are on hand, not outsourcing. BIW’s competitor, Huntington Ingalls shipyard in Pascagoula, Miss., has also built destroyers for the Navy. The likelihood of big destroyer contracts are diminishing and likely will only include one new contract per year for the foreseeable future. This is where the CG contract comes in. (Source: Portland (Me.) Press Herald 12/28/14) Gulf Coast Shipbuilding: BIW is one of three shipyards competing to land the CG contract to build up to 11 offshore patrol cutters (OPC). The other two are on the Gulf Coast: Bollinger Shipyards of Lockport, La., and Eastern Shipbuilding of Panama City, Fla. They are smaller, more diversified, non-union yards. Bollinger already builds fast-response cutters for the CG as part of a 34-ship contract. VP Robert Socha says about half of Bollinger’s work is building tugs, barges and vessels for the commercial sector, which is more price-conscious than the military. But, asked how Bath can compete against the other yards, a Maine Local S6 union president had a blunt response: “We’re better than them.”