Austal has begun construction of the US Coast Guard’s fifth Heritage-class Offshore Patrol Cutter in Mobile, Alabama. The USCGC Pickering (WSMM 919) is the first to be built under a $3.3-billion contract order signed in 2022 for up to 11 360-foot (110-meter) class cutters to replace the 1960s-era Reliance patrol boats.