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APL(S) – Auxiliary Personnel Lighter – Small

APL(S) barracks craft will provide berthing and messing facilities for the U.S. Navy sailors while their ships are in port for availabilities (ship repair or overhaul period) and Inter-Deployment Training Cycles (IDTC). The craft will support up to a Gerald R. Ford class aircraft carrier (CVN) size ship with berthing for approximately 600 personnel and messing for approximately 1,100 personnel. APL(S) will be a non-self-propelled craft designed to be towed to bases or shipyards where ship availabilities are being conducted. It will usually be employed in or near U.S. Navy and civilian shore facilities, and will depend on shore supply for all utility services.

Facilities on-board the APL(S) will include classrooms, conference rooms, administrative offices, disbursing office, galley, mess, scullery, post office, convenience store, barbershop, entertainment room, lounges, laundry facilities, physical fitness center, chaplain’s office, medical complex, quarterdeck, equipment/machinery rooms, and various storerooms.

On September 18, 2018 VT Halter Marine Inc., Pascagoula, Mississippi, was awarded a $77,898,158 firm fixed-price contract for the detail design and construction of the Auxiliary Personnel Lighter - Small (APL(S)). As these craft are similar to accommodation barges used in the commercial oil and gas industry, APL(S) was determined to be a commercial item and is being acquired under the procedures in Federal Acquisition Regulations Part 12 "Acquisition of Commercial Items". The initial contract is for the detail design and construction of the lead and second craft in the APL(S) 67 class. This contract includes options for four additional craft and associated crew familiarization and packaging and delivery, which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract to $244,065,420. This contract was a limited competition between VT Halter Marine Inc. and Bollinger Shipyards Inc. under 10 U.S. Code 2304 (c)(3) implemented at Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.302-3. Industrial Mobilization; Engineering, Developmental, or Research Capability; or Expert Services.

The contract work was performed in Pascagoula, Mississippi (58 percent); the remaining 42 percent will be performed in the following areas: Mandeville, Louisiana; Metairie, Louisiana; Gautier, Mississippi; Billerica, Massachusetts; Boca Raton, Florida; and was expected to be completed by July 2020.

VT Halter Marine Inc. possesses unique capabilities in the areas of Special Mission ship design and general arrangements; scientific mission equipment installations; complex systems integration of ballistic missile tracking radars and other specialized mission systems; and moon pools and associated launch and recovery equipment for unmanned systems. A sufficient competitive industrial base with the aforementioned capabilities is required for the Department of Defense's and Department of Homeland Security's future requirements across the portfolio of oceanographic survey ships, heavy polar icebreakers, and other special mission platforms. In addition, VT Halter Marine Inc.'s 12,000 metric ton capacity drydock provides a key ship repair capability in the region.