Bollinger Shipyards has been awarded the contract for designing and constructing the sixth Auxiliary Personnel Lighter-Small (APL(S)) 67 Class berthing and messing barge by the US Navy.
The construction work for this vessel will take place at Bollinger Mississippi Shipbuilding in Pascagoula, Mississippi, and is expected to commence in the second quarter of 2023. Previously, VT Halter Marine built the first five APLs, but Bollinger acquired the company in late 2022.
The APLs are used by the Navy to accommodate crew members while the ships are at port for availabilities and Inter-Deployment Training Cycles. They are mobile vessels that can be towed to new bases or shipyards to support changing fleet requirements. Additionally, the APLs can be utilized for temporary assignments, including humanitarian missions.
Each APL vessel is 269 feet long, 69 feet wide, and has a draft of 7 feet. The vessels are equipped with various facilities such as offices, classrooms, washrooms, laundry facilities, medical treatment areas, a barber shop, and a fitness center. The berthing spaces for each vessel include mixed gender sleeping quarters for 74 officers and 537 enlisted personnel, with a total capacity of 611 individuals. Moreover, the APLs provide mess seating for 224 enlisted personnel and 28 officers, with food service available through five 20-minute shifts, providing three meals per day to 1,130 personnel.