SAFE Boats Reopening Tacoma Shipbuilding Facility

Bremerton, Wash.-based shipbuilder SAFE Boats International says that it plans to reopen its Large Craft Production Facility at the Port of Tacoma following a $20 million lead contract with the U.S. Navy to begin construction of Mark VI patrol boats for the government of Ukraine.

The U.S. Navy announced in January that it had awarded SAFE Boats a portion of the contract to purchase long-lead material and associated pre-production and planning support. An additional award of $80 million award is anticipated in June.

Altogether, the contract is expected to result in 75 new jobs at SAFE’s Tacoma workforce at the LCPF, which specializes in vessels over 65 feet in length.

The LCPF, originally developed to build ships for the US Navy during World War II, allows for up to six large craft to be under construction simultaneously.

“SAFE Boats is incredibly fortunate to have such a strong and engaged team supporting our efforts to bring production back to our Tacoma facility,” company CEO Richard Schwarz said. “We have been working toward this goal for more than three years, and this project team has supported us every step of the way. This is an incredible example of a true partnership which will create jobs and generate economic growth for the region while supporting national security and foreign policy objectives.”

Under the contract, the first two boats are to be delivered in December 2022, with a total of 16 vessels possibly being built for the Navy.

By Pacific Maritime