Editors' Pick|12,144 views|Jun 30, 2020,07:27pm EDT
Trouble Ahead As Builder Of USCG Heavy Icebreaker Abruptly Changes Leadership
Craig HooperSenior Contributor
Is the Coast Guard’s new Heavy Icebreaker Program in trouble?
On June 9, the White House issued a somewhat unusual memo, emphasizing that “the United States requires a ready, capable, and available fleet of polar security icebreakers†by Fiscal Year 2029. Four days later, Ronald Baczkowski, President and CEO of VT Halter Marine, the contracted builder of America’s first new polar security icebreaker, abruptly resigned. Two days after that, ST Engineering North America, VT Halter Marine’s parent company, announced the appointment of a third shipyard president in the space of four years, Robert Merchent.
The Singapore-based company insists via a spokesperson that the “leadership change is not related to recent announcements regard the Coast Guard Heavy Icebreaker Program,†and that VT Halter Marine continues “to execute to our contract requirements for the Polar Security Cutter.†To that end, the leadership change seems to make sense as well. Bob Merchent appears to be the right man for the job—a project manager from the nearby Huntington Ingalls yard. He has deep experience with the U.S. Coast Guard after leading the U.S. Coast Guard’s Legend Class/National Security Cutter program.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/craighooper/2020/06/30/trouble-ahead-as-builder-of-uscg-heavy-icebreaker-abruptly-changes-leadership/#586df5796888
