Posted on July 15, 2026
The Navy on Monday issued TOTE Services a $2.2 billion contract to function as the vessel construction manager for the Marine Corps’ Landing Ship Medium program, according to a Defense Department contract announcement.
The award is worth up to $2.6 billion with options for as many as eight McClung-class LSMs.
Gulf Coast-based Bollinger Shipyards is building the first LSM, while Wisconsin-based Fincantieri Marinette Marine in April won a $30 million for long lead items for four LSMs.
“For the initial production of up to eight LSMs, the Navy will direct the VCM to execute and manage subcontracts with Bollinger Shipyards for the construction of one LSM and Fincantieri Marinette Marine for the construction of four LSMs,” reads a Monday Navy statement. “The VCM will have the flexibility to determine the best award strategy for up to three additional vessels.”
“This is an important step toward full production of LSMs,” George Moutafis, the chief executive officer of Fincantieri Marine Group, said in a statement. “We stand behind the Navy’s sense of urgency and collaborative approach, and we’re ready to get to work. Building on two decades of efforts, our investments, our workforce and our manufacturing capabilities are in place, ready to deliver these critical ships at scale.”
After years of requirements churn and disagreements between the Navy and Marine Corps, the Navy opted for an off-the-shelf design for LSM, which is based on the 4,000-ton LST-100 tank landing ship from Dutch shipbuilder Damen.
The LSM platform is a crucial component of the Marine Corps’ plans for countering China in the Western Pacific by using smaller units that can shuttle between islands and shorelines, where Marines could set up ad-hoc based and fire anti-ship missiles.
While vessel construction managers are a common practice in commercial shipbuilding, the Navy’s new contract is a first for the service. VCMs act as intermediaries between commercial shippers and shipbuilders and manage the construction of new ships across a variety of yards on behalf of clients. The goal is to make the construction and acquisition process more efficient.
“The VCM will hold the prime contract with the Navy and, in turn, issue and manage its own subcontracts directly with the shipyards,” the service said in a release earlier this year. “This places the VCM in direct contractual control of shipyard performance and creates a buffer that, along with a proven design, is expected to reduce cost and schedule risks.”
TOTE Services is the VCM for the U.S. Maritime Administration’s National Security Multi-Mission Vessel program that is currently under construction at Hanwha Philly Shipyard.
