Doing Business with the U.S. Military: The Coast Guard Waterways Commerce Cutter Program

The United States Coast Guard (USCG) Waterways Commerce Cutter (WCC) program will recapitalize the capabilities provided by its fleet of inland tenders and barges. These cutters maintain aids to navigation (ATON) for the Marine Transportation System, which accounts for more than $5.4 trillion of U.S. economic activity annually, while providing a federal presence and capabilities that support maritime safety and security, search and rescue, and marine environmental protection operations along the rivers and waterways they serve.

The WCC program plans on releasing a request for proposal in 2021 to recapitalize its river buoy tenders (WLRs) and inland construction tenders (WLICs). To inform industry members about how the WLRs and WLICs perform critical missions, the USCG will release two videos showing vessel layouts, operational footage, and crew interviews from these tenders ahead of the presentation. Industry members will be able to submit questions about how the tenders conduct their missions, and WCC program managers will answer questions and discuss recent WCC program progress.

River Buoy Tender Operations

Inland Construction Tender Operations

Speakers

Aileen Sedmak, Waterways Commerce Cutter Program Manager, U.S. Coast Guard

Aileen Sedmak has nearly 34 years of engineering and program management experience throughout various military organizations. As the Waterways Commerce Cutter Program Manager for the U.S. Coast Guard, she leads the acquisition to recapitalize the capabilities provided by the USCG’s fleet of inland tenders and barges. These cutters maintain aids to navigation for the Marine Transportation System, which accounts for more than $5.4 trillion of U.S. economic activity annually, and also provide a federal presence, including maritime safety and security, search and rescue, and marine environmental protection capabilities, along the rivers and waterways they patrol.

Chief Warrant Officer 2 Tyler M. Young, Aid to Navigation & Icebreaker Platform Manager/Waterways Commerce Cutter Sponsor’s Representative – U.S. Coast Guard

Chief Warrant Officer Tyler Young has served in the U.S. Coast Guard for over 18 years and has eight years of sea service aboard inland and seagoing cutters. As Aids to Navigation and Icebreaker Platform Manager at USCG headquarters in Washington, D.C., he manages policy and capabilities for a mission-diverse fleet of 35 Coast Guard cutters homeported from Alaska to Maryland. As the Sponsor’s Representative for the Waterways Commerce Cutter Program, he provides extensive experience in marine construction and buoy operations vital to recapitalizing the capabilities provided by the USCG’s fleet of inland tenders and barges.

Moderator

Jeremiah Karpowicz, Executive Editor, WorkBoat.com

Jeremiah Karpowicz is the Editorial Director for the CM/Grocery/Tech Group at Diversified Communications. He has created articles, videos, newsletters, ebooks and plenty more for various communities as a contributor and editor.