LOCKPORT, La. (Tribune News Service) — Bollinger Shipyards in Lockport will supply a third major component of the system used to build the U.S. Navy's newest class of submarines.

Bollinger landed the contract for an undisclosed amount with New England-based General Dynamics Electric Boat, company officials said.

Bollinger will construct a giant pontoon that will float, maneuver and stabilize the subs as their dry dock is flooded with water. Once construction is complete, the pontoon, which sits below the submarine, can be lowered to the bottom of the dock so the sub can float on its own and be launched.

General Dynamics Electric Boat is the lead contractor for design and construction of the nuclear-powered Columbia subs, which will replace the aging Ohio class. Construction on the first sub began last year, with delivery to the Navy expected in 2027.

The Columbia class subs, 560 feet long with a displacement of nearly 21,000 tons, will be the largest ever built by the U.S., company officials said. Each sub has tubes to launch 16 nuclear missiles.

General Dynamics Electric Boats says it will build the sub in giant sections, called modules, at its facilities in Quonset Point, R.I. A Bollinger-built barge, the Holland, will transport those sections to Electric Boats' assembly site in Groton, Conn.

"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," Bollinger Shipyards president and CEO Ben Bordelon said in a news release. "We're honored to have been selected to build this pontoon launcher with the quality craftsmanship of the hardworking men and women of Bollinger Shipyards 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."

The concept and contract design for the 496-by-95-foot pontoon launcher was performed by the Bristol Harbor Group in Rhode Island. Detail design and engineering will be performed at the Bollinger facility in Lockport. The pontoon launcher is scheduled to be delivered to Electric Boat's Groton shipyard in 2024.

"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 of real estate and facilities for General Dynamics Electric Boat. "Our partnership with Bollinger is an important part of that strategy."

The Navy estimates the lead sub, the first of 12 planned, will cost $15 billion, including $6.5 billion for design, planning and engineering and $8.5 billion for construction, according to the Congressional Research Service. Costs will decrease for subsequent subs, and the Navy estimates all 12 will cost a combined $109 billion.

In late 2019, Bollinger was selected to construct the Holland, a 400-by-100-foot ocean transport barge, for Electric Boat, which was delivered last month.

In September 2020, Bollinger landed a contract to build a 618-by-140-foot floating dry dock to support the subs' construction and maintenance. The dry dock is scheduled to be delivered to Electric Boat's Groton shipyard in 2024.

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