The Navy this week awarded a $2.2 billion Vessel Construction Management contract to the Jacksonville, Florida-based TOTE Services LLC for the service’s new Medium Landing Ships.
The Marine Corps commissioned the new Medium Landing Ships, or LSMs, with an eye toward potential conflicts with China in the Indo-Pacific.
Measuring around 100 meters, the smaller, more agile ships were designed for island hopping with troops, equipment and supplies in tow.
Under the FY2026 National Defense Authorization Act, Congress directed the Navy to select a VCM outside of the military to manage the contract to procure no more than eight additional LSMs.
The VCM approach is supposed to speed up construction of simplified ship designs by borrowing commercial shipbuilding practices.
TOTE Services will manage subcontracts with Bollinger Shipyards for the construction of one LSM, while Fincantieri Marinette Marine will construct four of the vessels.
The VCM will determine the award strategy for the remaining three vessels, the Navy stated in a press release Monday. Construction is set to begin later this year, with the first LSM scheduled for delivery in the fall of 2029.
The LSMs are part of President Donald Trump’s “Golden Fleet” initiative, an undertaking that envisions keeping the Navy’s legacy ships and adding new manned and unmanned vessels.
Last December, the Navy tapped Dutch shipbuilder Damen Naval to design the Landing Ship Transport 100 (LST-100) for the initial tranche of LSMs.
The ship boasts a range of 3,400 nautical miles and can beach itself to deliver over 800 tons of cargo, according to a Marine Corps video released in April.
The Nigerian Navy already uses the LST-100 and the Australian Navy selected Damen’s design in 2024.
“We’re taking a proven design and leveraging congressional authorities to move with urgency and approach shipbuilding differently,” Christopher Miller, the Navy’s portfolio acquisition executive for maritime, said in a press release Monday.