Alabama Shipyard wins $19.6 million USNS Comfort contract

USNS Comfort was a New York City landmark during the worst days of the coronavirus pandemic. (Photo: McAllister/ David Rider

Hard on the heels of winning a $10.7 million Military Sealift Command (MSC) contract for a fleet oiler availability, Alabama Shipyard LLC, Mobile, Ala., has been awarded a $19,685,492 firm-fixed-price contract for a 120-calendar day shipyard availability for the mid-term availability of the Military Sealift Command’s hospital ship USNS Comfort (T-AH 20).

The Comfort contract includes a base period and options that, if exercised, would bring its cumulative value to $19,927,348.

Work will be performed in Mobile, beginning Sept. 15, 2023, and is expected to be completed by Jan. 12, 2024. Fiscal 2023 working capital funds (Navy) in the amount of $19,685,492 are obligated and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The contract was a small business set-aside with proposals solicited via the SAM.gov website and four offers received.

The Military Sealift Command, Norfolk, Va., is the contracting activity.

The Comfort and sister ship Mercy were originally delivered by NASSCO as San Clemente class tankers in 1974 and 1978 and were subsequently converted by NASSCO and delivered as hospital ships in 1984 and 1985. Navy thinking on what hospital ships should do has changed since then and, earlier this month, Philly Shipyard was awarded a contract by Gibbs & Cox to conduct the T-AH(X) Hospital Ship Feasibility Study. The six-month study will cover a solution for preliminary designs to replace the two current hospital ships .