Birdon America have announced the United States Coast Guard exercised "Option Order 1" for Birdon's 47' Motor Lifeboat (MLB) Service Life Extension Program (SLEP) contract. This modification extends the term of the contract through Order Years 6-10 and will allow up to another 72 MLBs to receive significant overhauls and upgrades.
In 2019, Birdon was awarded a 10-year contract to perform a 20-year service life extension for the U.S. Coast Guard's 47' Motor Lifeboat fleet and extend the useful life of the fleet through 2047. Since contract award, Birdon has established full-rate production facilities on both the East and West coasts to facilitate a bi-coastal delivery process.
To date, Birdon has delivered nineteen 47' MLBs to operational units, with another nineteen 47' MLBs currently undergoing SLEP. With the modification, up to 117 total vessels can be delivered through 2029 from Birdon's Bellingham, WA and Portland, CT facilities.
The 47' MLB is the Coast Guard's primary search and rescue platform, and as an all-weather fast response vessel, they are used to patrol vast areas of the country's coastline. These vessels are designed to operate in surf up to 20 feet, heavy weather with seas of 30 feet combined with 50 knot winds, and are rollover capable, meaning that if capsized, the vessels self-right and can continue operations.
