RALion wins Canadian Coast Guard contract to design offshore fisheries science vessels

November 30, 2010

RALion, a Joint Venture between Robert Allan Ltd. of Vancouver, British Columbia, Alion Science and Technology Corporation of McLean, Virginia, and Alion Science and Technology (Canada) Corporation, of Kanata, Ontario has been awarded a $2.5 m contract to design a class of new Canadian Coast Guard’s Offshore Fisheries Science Vessels. The Canadian Coast Guard plans to build three of these new vessels in the next few years and under this contract RALion will deliver to the Coast Guard a comprehensive design package, including a the Construction Specification and Drawing Package for tendering to qualified shipyards within Canada.

 

 

More about the Joint Venture Partners

Robert Allan Ltd. and the Alion companies agreed in 2009 to develop a relationship that highlighted the strengths of each company. Capitalizing on the synergy of their collective talents, they are positioned to support maritime projects throughout the global market.

 

Alion and Alion Canada

Alion Science and Technology is an employee-owned technology solutions company delivering scientific, research and development and technical expertise as well as operational support to customers around the globe, including the U.S. Department of Defense, other U.S. federal agencies, governments worldwide and commercial customers. Based in McLean, Virginia, Alion employee-owners are located at major offices, customer sites and laboratories worldwide. Alion’s wholly owned subsidiary, Alion Canada, supports Canada’s ship programs, with offices located in Kanata, Ontario.

 

Robert Allan Ltd.

Robert Allan Ltd. is Canada’s senior and most experienced consulting Naval Architecture firm, operating continuously in Vancouver, BC since 1930 and employee-owned since 2008. Historically, Robert Allan Ltd. has worked extensively with various departments of the Canadian Government for new ship design and refit work. Since 1990, the company has emerged as a world leader in the development of advanced ship-handling and offshore escort tugs, offshore supply and anchor handling vessels, and as the premiere designer of high-performance fireboats. Well over 100 vessels designed by Robert Allan Ltd. have been delivered in the last 36 months alone, to an array of international owners. There are presently more than 80 Robert Allan Ltd. designed vessels under construction in shipyards around the world, including 33 different vessels of four new, distinct designs for the Canadian Coast Guard all being built in Canadian Shipyards.

 

The OFSV

The new Offshore Fisheries Science Vessels, replacing existing vessels that are at the end of their useful operational life, will be used to conduct scientific research in all of Canada’s three oceans; a critical step in ensuring the best possible management of the fishery resources. The new vessels will be approximately 65 metres long, will have an operational range of 8500 n. miles, and will be a stable, sea kindly, manoeuvrable, and acoustically quiet platform to conduct physical, chemical, and biological assessments to describe and monitor the distribution, abundance and health of marine species.

The vessels will also act as a platform to conduct physical, chemical and biological oceanographic research and habitat mapping by launching/towing/retrieving a variety of physical and biological sampling gear including: water samplers, temperature and salinity profilers, bottom grabs, gravity corers, plankton nets and small towed, tethered and autonomous underwater bodies and vehicles.

 

For more information on the design capabilities of the design firms involved, please contact:

Alion Science and Technology
Peter Jacobs
pjacobs@alionscience.com
703-269-3473

Robert Allan Ltd.
Ernst Schneider
eschneider@ral.ca
604-736-9466

 

This press release contains information about management’s view of future expectations, plans and prospects that constitute forward-looking statements for purposes of the safe harbor provisions under The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by these forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof.