Naval Sea Systems Command has awarded Bollinger Shipyards Lockport LLC a $95 million firm-fixed-price contract modification for pre- and post-delivery services supporting the Navy's Navajo-class Towing, Salvage, and Rescue ships, with work split between Houma, Louisiana and Pascagoula, Mississippi and a performance period running through January 2030.
Bollinger Shipyards Lockport LLC, headquartered in Lockport, Louisiana, is a subsidiary of Bollinger Shipyards, one of the Gulf Coast's largest naval shipbuilding and repair enterprises. The firm is the builder of record for the Navajo-class T-ATS program. The $95 million modification covers an extensive range of pre- and post-delivery requirements including industrial services, shipyard support, claims settlement, and extended warranties. Pascagoula, Mississippi accounts for 88 percent of the contract work, with the remaining 12 percent performed in Houma, Louisiana.
The Navajo-Class T-ATS
The Navajo-class Towing, Salvage, and Rescue ship — designated T-ATS — is a purpose-built fleet support vessel designed to perform three operationally critical functions that the surface Navy cannot afford to do without. Towing operations recover disabled warships and auxiliaries that would otherwise be lost or require commercial salvage assistance. Salvage operations support the recovery of sunken or grounded vessels and their cargo, including classified systems and weapons. Rescue operations support the extraction of personnel and equipment from vessels in distress.
The Navajo-class ships were built to replace the aging Powhatan-class fleet ocean tugs, which had served since the 1970s. Each Navajo-class T-ATS displaces 5,110 long tons and measures 263 feet in length, giving the class a substantial physical presence capable of operating in open ocean conditions. The ships have an 8,170 nautical mile range, which allows them to conduct extended operations in the Pacific and other distant theaters without requiring frequent refueling. That range is particularly relevant as the Navy shifts strategic attention toward the Indo-Pacific, where the distances between potential operating areas and established support bases are far greater than in the Atlantic or Mediterranean.
T-ATS ships carry specialized salvage equipment, diving support systems, and towing machinery that is not replicated on other surface combatants or auxiliaries. When a destroyer, submarine tender, or combat logistics force vessel suffers a casualty that leaves it unable to maneuver under its own power, the T-ATS is the asset that responds. In a high-end conflict scenario where adversary anti-ship missiles may damage but not destroy Navy vessels, the ability to recover and tow disabled ships away from the threat environment becomes operationally significant in ways that peacetime operations do not fully capture.
Pre- and post-delivery services for vessels of this complexity encompass a broad scope of work. Pre-delivery activities include final outfitting, testing, and certification of ship systems before the Navy formally accepts a vessel. Post-delivery activities extend into the early operational period of each ship, covering warranty claims, industrial support for systems that require adjustment after initial fleet use, and shipyard access for modifications identified during sea trials or early operations. Extended warranties provide the government with recourse against builder-responsible defects that emerge after delivery without requiring new competitive procurement for each repair action.
What It Means for Contractors
Bollinger Shipyards has built a significant Gulf Coast shipbuilding footprint over decades of Navy and Coast Guard work. The Navajo-class T-ATS program has been a centerpiece of that portfolio, and this $95 million modification reinforces the long-term nature of the relationship between Bollinger and NAVSEA on the program. For the Gulf Coast shipbuilding industrial base, the award sustains skilled trades employment across two major facilities — Pascagoula and Houma — through January 2030.
For subcontractors and suppliers, pre- and post-delivery service contracts of this scope involve multiple categories of work. Industrial services on a naval vessel encompass welding, pipefitting, electrical work, machinery overhaul, and structural repair — trades that are performed by a mix of shipyard direct employees and specialty subcontractors. Warranty-related work may involve the original equipment manufacturers for propulsion systems, steering gear, winches, salvage pumps, and other ship systems, creating sustained demand for those suppliers during the post-delivery period. Firms already in Bollinger's supplier network for the T-ATS program are best positioned to capture that work; firms seeking entry into the program should monitor NAVSEA's subcontracting requirements notices through SAM.gov.
The funding mechanism for this award is notable. That funding source reflects broader congressional concern about the capacity of American shipyards relative to adversary naval construction rates, and it signals that additional shipbuilding and sustainment contracts funded through similar legislative vehicles may follow. Contractors working in naval shipbuilding and ship repair should track how those appropriations are being obligated across NAVSEA and Military Sealift Command programs, as the funding environment for this sector has shifted materially.
The firm-fixed-price structure of the modification places cost risk on Bollinger rather than the government, which is typical for well-defined sustainment and delivery work where the scope is established and the contractor has the institutional knowledge to price it accurately. For subcontractors bidding on work under this contract, that means Bollinger will be managing cost tightly and will expect competitive pricing from its supply chain. Firms that can demonstrate reliable performance records on prior naval shipbuilding work will have an advantage in that environment.
The January 2030 completion date extends this contract well into the next presidential budget cycle, providing a degree of stability for Bollinger's Gulf Coast workforce that is not guaranteed in year-to-year continuing resolution environments. For the communities around Pascagoula and Houma — both heavily dependent on maritime industry employment — sustained shipbuilding and ship service contracts translate directly into skilled trades employment: welders, pipefitters, marine electricians, and precision machinists whose skills take years to develop and cannot be quickly reconstituted if the workforce disperses during contract gaps.
