Posted on January 13, 2022
Bollinger Shipyards LLC is to construct a new 496- by 95-foot pontoon launcher for General Dynamics Electric Boat. The unit will support the construction and launching of the Columbia Class ballistic missile submarines that will replace the U.S. Navy’s aging Ohio Class ballistic missile submarines.
“Bollinger Shipyards is excited to expand our ongoing relationship with Electric Boat and to continue to support the capitalization and infrastructure improvements that Electric Boat has undertaken in reshaping and modernizing its Groton shipyard,” said Bollinger Shipyards President and CEO Ben Bordelon. “We’re honored to have been selected to build this pontoon launcher with the quality craftsmanship of the hardworking men and women of Bollinger Shipyard and we continue to be laser- focused and committed to being a leader in pushing our industry forward and ensuring that the U.S. Industrial Base is fully self-sufficient.”
“Electric Boat continues to expand and upgrade its infrastructure to support construction of the Columbia class, the nation’s top strategic defense priority,” said Joe Drake, vice president, real estate and facilities, General Dynamics Electric Boat. “Our partnership with Bollinger is an important part of that strategy.”
CONCEPT AND DESIGN
The concept and contract design for the pontoon launcher was performed by the Bristol Harbor Group naval architecture firm in Rhode Island. The detail design engineering will be performed at the Bollinger facility in Lockport, La. The launcher is scheduled to be delivered to Electric Boat’s Groton, Conn., shipyard in 2024.
Electric Boat is the prime contractor on the design and build of the of the Columbia Class and this is Bollinger Shipyards’ third contract award from Electric Boat in support of the program. In late 2019, it was selected to construct a 400- by 100-foot ocean transport barge for the program, which was delivered in 2021, and in late 2020, Bollinger was selected to construct a 618- by 140-foot state-of-the-art floating dry dock.
