Bollinger to fabricate pontoon launcher for nuclear submarines

Ben Bordelon
Bollinger Shipyards CEO Ben Bordelon

Lockport-based Bollinger Shipyards announced last week that it received an order from General Dynamics Electric Boat in support of the U.S. Navy’s new Columbia-class ballistic missile submarines, reports gCaptain, a maritime news services.

The shipbuilder will construct a new pontoon launcher, needed during the construction and launching of the nuclear-powered submarines. The concept and contract design for the 496-foot by 95-foot launcher was performed by the Bristol Harbor Group in Rhode Island, while the detail design engineering will be performed at the Bollinger facility.

“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,” says Bollinger Shipyards President and CEO Ben Bordelon.

The pontoon launcher is scheduled to be delivered to Electric Boat’s Groton Connecticut shipyard in 2024. Read the entire story.