Nov. 21, 2019 —
The Coast Guard announced Nov. 21 that the solicitation to replace the capabilities provided by its 18 river buoy tenders and 13 inland construction tenders will be a total small business set-aside.
The acquisition to replace the river buoy and inland construction tenders is part of the Coast Guard Waterways Commerce Cutter (WCC) Program. The Coast Guard is planning to replace the three classes comprising the inland tender fleet with three variants of monohull vessels, meaning self-propelled cutters instead of tug and barge combinations. The configurations of the river buoy tender and inland construction tender WCC variants are expected to be identical except for their hull lengths, bow shapes, working deck layouts and deck equipment, including cranes designed for their mission set.
The WCC Program is still determining its acquisition strategy to replace the capability provided by the Coast Guard’s four inland buoy tenders.
The special notice announcing the small business set-aside is available here.
For more information: Waterways Commerce Cutter Program page