Birdon America starts construction on third waterways commerce cutter

Birdon America has started construction on the third U.S. Coast Guard waterways commerce cutter (WCC) vessel: Inland construction tender WLIC 1602. This milestone comes just months after beginning work on WLIC 1601 in June and the first river buoy tender (WLR 1801) in September.

Birdon says that starting WLIC 1602 ahead of schedule reflects its significant investments in its Bayou La Batre, Ala., shipyard and the U.S. Coast Guard’s confidence in the company, demonstrated by the $110M in production and long lead time material contracts awarded on Sept. 30, 2025.

“We are honored to support the U.S. Coast Guard’s mission and appreciate the trust they have put in us to deliver vessels that meet the highest standards of quality, performance, and reliability,” said Hoby Swiney, VP/GM of Birdon’s Alabama shipyard. “This achievement is possible because of the Coast Guard’s support and our team’s commitment to program success and making Birdon a great place to work.”

Since acquiring the Bayou La Batre facility in Spring 2024, Birdon has added nearly 100 full-time employees, with strong retention and dozens of subcontractors and suppliers onsite. Our workforce growth remains on track to support the WCC program.

Birdon was awarded a $1.187 billion contract in 2022 to design and build 27 WCC vessels for the U.S. Coast Guard:

• 16 river buoy tenders (WLRs)
• 11 inland construction tenders (WLICs)

The waterways commerce cutters are critical to maintaining the Marine Transportation System that drives U.S. supply chains, disaster response, environmental protection, and co

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