TOTE awards Hanwha contract for missile tracking vessel

TOTE Services has awarded Hanwha Philly Shipyard a contract to build a missile-range instrumentation vessel (MRIV) for the US Missile Defense Agency (MDA), with delivery of the first ship scheduled for 2030.

The subcontract includes one firm vessel and options for two more. The new MRIVs will replace Pacific Tracker and Pacific Collector, built in 1965 and 1970 respectively, which TOTE currently manages and operates.

The vessels will monitor missile interception tests over the Pacific Ocean, collect mission-critical data and support range safety operations.

The award follows a construction management agreement between TOTE and the US Maritime Administration (MARAD). TOTE will serve as vessel construction manager for what the company described as an inter-agency effort involving the Department of Transportation (DOT), the Department of War, and the MDA.

TOTE and Hanwha Philly were selected for the program in July, when the DOT announced a US$2 billion investment in two MRIVs. That announcement targeted delivery of the first vessel by June 2030.

White House Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought referred to the first MRIV as Golden Defender during remarks at the christening of Lone Star State, MARAD’s fourth national security multi-mission vessel (NSMV).

The missile-tracking ships will draw on the NSMV platform. According to TOTE, the MRIV design uses the same hull design and has 70 per cent overall commonality with the NSMV.

TOTE intends to use Hanwha Philly’s existing production infrastructure, supplier network and workforce to reduce construction risk. The shipyard is already building the five-ship NSMV series under TOTE’s management for MARAD, with those vessels intended to support maritime academy training and emergency-response operations.

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