BIDEN’S PRICY PHOTO-OP: US military asking contractors to help haul boats used in troubled Gaza pier mission back to the US.

Three boats deployed in March for the mission: the US Army Vessels Monterrey, Matamoros, and Wilson Wharf. The Pentagon had previously said that all personnel and equipment used with the temporary pier — called the Joint Logistics Over-the-Shore, or JLOTS — were scheduled to be home by mid-September.

It’s unclear how much the contract to bring the vessels back will cost the military. A spokesperson for Military Sealift Command told CNN the contract is “currently in the procurement phase, which means it is out for competitive bids.”

Retired Marine Corps Col. Mark Cancian, a senior adviser with the CSIS International Security Program, estimated that the contract would go for $300,000 per float-on/float-off vessel, which would be used to transport the three boats. The contract description says it is for “multiple awards up to two vessels or until the Government’s needs are met,” meaning it could come out to roughly $600,000 total if two vessels are required.

The pier was announced by President Joe Biden in his State of the Union address in March.

“A temporary pier would enable a massive increase in the amount of humanitarian assistance getting into Gaza every day,” Biden said.

But in the end it was only operational for roughly 20 days at a cost of the $230 million and did little to alleviate the grave humanitarian situation in Gaza as the war between Hamas and Israel, which has claimed thousands of civilian lives, continues.

Plus: “Unless the whole unit is deploying somewhere, that means these boats are in rough shape.”