IN Brief:
- TOTE Services has signed a vessel construction management contract with MARAD and awarded the first MRIV shipbuilding subcontract to Hanwha Philly Shipyard.
- The first ship is approximately 525 feet long and uses the National Security Multi-Mission Vessel hull design, with TOTE identifying approximately 70% design commonality.
- One vessel is firmly contracted, with options for two more, and the first delivery is scheduled for 2030.
TOTE Services has signed a construction management contract with the US Maritime Administration (MARAD) for the Missile Range Instrumentation Vessel (MRIV) programme and awarded the first shipbuilding subcontract to Hanwha Philly Shipyard. The agreements, signed on 7 October 2026, advance the construction of new vessels for the Missile Defense Agency, with the first ship scheduled for delivery in 2030. One vessel is firmly contracted, and the programme includes options for two additional ships.
The contractual milestone follows the selection of TOTE and Hanwha in July, when the two companies were identified to support the replacement of the ageing Pacific Tracker and Pacific Collector. The existing vessels entered service decades ago, having been constructed in 1965 and 1970 respectively. Under the new arrangement, TOTE will manage the construction programme for MARAD, while Hanwha will undertake shipbuilding at its Philadelphia facility. The vessel will support the Missile Defense Agency under a programme managed through MARAD; the future operating arrangements have not been specified.
The MRIV design is derived from the National Security Multi-Mission Vessel (NSMV) platform already being built in Philadelphia under TOTE’s construction management. The approximately 525-foot-long ship will use the same basic hull design, with TOTE identifying around 70% commonality with the established NSMV configuration. Reusing significant elements of the existing design allows engineering and production work to begin from a documented platform rather than requiring every aspect of the vessel to be developed independently.
Having built National Security Multi-Mission Vessels in Philadelphia, Hanwha and TOTE can bring an established hull design, suppliers and production experience into the MRIV programme. Hanwha’s yard has an active production line, established suppliers and personnel familiar with the NSMV construction sequence. The company intends to use those resources for the MRIV programme, maintaining continuity between its commercial and government shipbuilding activities. Although the new ship will have a different operational purpose, the shared hull architecture offers scope to retain established structural arrangements, manufacturing methods and elements of the machinery installation.
Design commonality can reduce the amount of engineering work needed to qualify familiar ship systems, but it does not remove the need to assess changes introduced for the new mission. A missile range instrumentation vessel must accommodate specialist equipment and the services required to operate it, including suitable electrical power, communications, cooling and working spaces. The precise equipment fit for the new MRIV has not been disclosed. Consequently, the degree to which individual onboard systems can be transferred directly from the NSMV design remains dependent on the completed requirements and detailed integration work.
Unlike a surface combatant carrying its own missile armament, an instrumentation vessel supports the collection of information during missile development and testing. The current US ships perform range instrumentation and associated support duties, enabling test organisations to gather observations that cannot always be obtained from fixed locations. Such vessels need to operate safely in assigned test areas while supporting the sensors, processing equipment and communications arrangements required by their mission. The new design’s exact sensor configuration and measurement capabilities have not yet been made public.
Specialist range equipment also imposes requirements on the ship’s stability, electrical supply and mechanical interfaces once the detailed mission fit is agreed. Equipment installed above the main deck affects weight distribution and stability, while machinery vibration and the movement of a vessel at sea can influence the mounting requirements for sensitive systems. Electrical and communications equipment must operate within the limits of the ship’s generating capacity and its onboard networks. These are engineering considerations for the detailed design rather than confirmed characteristics of the MRIV equipment package, which the programme has not specified publicly.
Under the vessel construction manager model, TOTE coordinates programme requirements and oversight while Hanwha undertakes physical construction at Philadelphia. Working for MARAD, the company coordinates the agreed requirements, design development, commercial arrangements and construction oversight, while Hanwha is responsible for building the vessel under its subcontract. This structure has already been used on the NSMV programme, giving both companies experience of managing contracts, engineering changes and supplier participation within a common delivery framework. Its reuse for MRIV is intended to support faster execution and more predictable programme control.
The companies report that substantial contract and design preparation has already taken place since July, including negotiations and the establishment of firm pricing. TOTE says the vessel construction manager approach allowed this work to be completed in less than three months, compared with a longer process under some conventional government shipbuilding arrangements. It has also described substantial potential acquisition savings, although the new MRIV agreement’s total value has not been disclosed. Without equivalent programme cost information, those savings cannot be independently quantified for this contract.
The MRIV work will extend government vessel production at Philadelphia beyond the National Security Multi-Mission Vessel series, using an established industrial workforce. Hanwha acquired the facility in 2024 and has continued developing its role in US shipbuilding, while its relationship with TOTE provides access to an established construction management arrangement. Maintaining an active production workforce and supplier network is relevant to both programmes because large shipbuilding projects depend on the coordinated delivery of structural steel, machinery, electrical equipment and numerous specialist components over an extended construction period.
With delivery planned for 2030, the first new ship is intended to replace capabilities now supplied by vessels constructed in the 1960s and 1970s. Although the programme provides for as many as three new ships, only the initial vessel is firmly awarded, and additional construction will depend on the exercise of the remaining options. The immediate work will centre on advancing the detailed design, procurement and shipyard production necessary to meet the 2030 delivery schedule, with the future operating arrangements determined separately.
