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TOTE Wins $2.2B Bid to Manage Navy LSPs
[ July 17, 2026 // Gary Burrows ]TOTE Services has been awarded a contract valued at up to US$2.2 billion to serve as Vessel Construction Manager (VCM) for the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps’ Medium Landing Ship (LSM) program, extending a commercial-style shipbuilding management model previously used on the National Security Multi-Mission Vessel program.
The contract, awarded by the Portfolio Acquisition Executive for Maritime (PAE Maritime), covers vessel construction management services for as many as eight Medium Landing Ships, the first phase of a planned 35-vessel fleet intended to support distributed maritime operations for the Navy and Marine Corps.
Under the agreement, TOTE Services will oversee coordination among shipyards, designers, suppliers, manufacturers and government stakeholders while managing shipyard subcontracts, construction planning, logistics and program execution. The company said it expects to begin issuing requests for proposals to qualified U.S. shipyards in the near term.
The company will hold the prime contract with PAE Maritime and manage shipyard subcontractors directly, an approach intended to improve schedule performance, cost control and configuration management across multiple vessels.
“This is a tremendous responsibility and a defining moment for American shipbuilding, the VCM model and TOTE Services,” Jeff Dixon, president of TOTE Services, said in a statement.
The award marks the second major federal shipbuilding program to use the Vessel Construction Manager model pioneered by TOTE Services under the U.S. Maritime Administration’s National Security Multi-Mission Vessel program. TOTE has overseen design, construction, testing, delivery and lifecycle logistics for the five-vessel NSMV fleet, with three ships delivered and the remaining two expected over the next year.
Supporters of the model argue that separating program management from ship construction introduces commercial project management practices while allowing multiple domestic shipyards to compete for work.
“The VCM model shows what is possible when government requirements are paired with commercial shipbuilding practices and sustained investment in American shipyards and maritime workers,” Matthew Paxton, president of the Shipbuilders Council of America, said.
According to TOTE Services, the Medium Landing Ship program is also expected to provide a steadier pipeline of work for U.S. shipyards, equipment suppliers and skilled labor by using multi-ship procurement and standardized vessel configurations.
TOTE said technical support for the program will include subcontractors Leidos Gibbs & Cox, The McHenry Management Group, MAD Security and Damen.
TOTE Services, part of the Saltchuk-owned TOTE Group, provides vessel construction management, ship management and technical services for government and commercial operators and manages a fleet of more than 30 vessels.
