WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Roger Wicker, R-Miss., today issued the following statement after it was announced that Huntington Ingalls Industries, located in Pascagoula, was awarded a $499.8 million contract to construct the U.S. Coast Guard’s eighth National Security Cutter (NSC-8):

“These ships are the cornerstone of the Coast Guard's new, modern fleet,” said Wicker, who serves on the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, which oversees the Coast Guard. “The NSC-8 should help the Coast Guard fulfill its missions by providing our Coast Guardsmen with the most up-to-date technologies available. I congratulate our hard-working Gulf Coast shipbuilders on being awarded this contract. I am confident that they will produce a state-of-the-art vessel to help protect our shores.”