Portland, Oregon-based Vanport Marine, Inc. has been awarded the contract to perform the Dockside Repair of the USCGC Bluebell.  The scope of the contract includes upgrades to the Allied buoy and cargo crane, deck preservation, repairs to the weather tight doors, renewal of the sewage shore tie valve, and repair of the remote fuel cutoff valve and deck box. The work will be completed at the vessel’s home pier at 676 N. Basin Ave, Portland, OR. The performance period will begin on June 12, 2018 and end July 18, 2018.

The cutter Bluebell is an inland buoy tender built by the Birchfield Boiler Co. in Tacoma, Wash., and was commissioned April 4, 1945. The crew services more than 420 river aids covering 500 river miles on three major rivers beginning at the mouth of the Columbia River on the Oregon/Washington border. More than 300 miles up the Columbia River in Kennewick, Wash., lies the Snake River, which the crew covers all the way to Lewiston, Idaho. (Courtesy of The Thirteenth Coast Guard District Public Affairs Office)

Vanport Marine, Inc. is a Small Business contractor specializing in topside ship repair, fabrication, and industrial services. Their experienced crews of trained and certified welders, pipefitters, and millwrights serve the Pacific Northwest, Alaska, California, and Hawaii. Vanport has successfully supported many dockside availabilities for the USCG, NOAA, MARAD, USACE, and private clients.