The contract includes an initial $4.9 million order for eight 25-foot SPC-IRT II boats, specialized transport trailers, operator training, and technical data support. The contract has a three-year period of performance, and the Coast Guard anticipates delivery of the first two boats in December 2026.
Boats will be stationed in the following locations:
- Cleveland
- Marblehead, Ohio
- Saginaw River, Essexville, Michigan
- Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan
- Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin
Based on a proven design, the SPC-IRT II will provide cold-weather search-and-rescue capability to the frozen waterways of the Great Lakes. The new watercraft will replace legacy aluminum-hulled ice rescue boats that are approaching or have reached the end of their service life.
“These new boats will provide Coast Guard crews a dependable, mission-ready capability to conduct search-and-rescue operations and all-hazard missions in the challenging winter environment of the Great Lakes,” said Rear Adm. Russell Dash, Commander, Coast Guard Great Lakes District. “This investment strengthens our boat fleet and helps ensure we remain ready to execute the missions that safeguard mariners, waterways and coastal communities.”
The Coast Guard’s fleet of boats supports a range of Coast Guard missions, directly contributing to eight of the 11 statutory Coast Guard missions, including drug interdiction; living marine resources; migrant interdiction; defense readiness; search and rescue; other law enforcement; aids to navigation; and ports, waterways, and coastal security. Strategic investments in boat recapitalization expand the service’s mission readiness.
