Navajo-class rescue and salvage ship

The Navajo class is a class of Towing, Salvage and Rescue Ships of the United States Navy. They were ordered in 2017 as the planned replacement for the aging Safeguard-class rescue and salvage ships and Powhatan-class tugboats. The lead ship of the first batch of six ships was laid down in 2019. Two additional ships were ordered in 2020.[1] In October 2021, Austal had been awarded a $145 million contract to build two Towing, Salvage, and Rescue ships (T-ATS 11 and 12), and options for up to three additional T-ATS ships.[2] On 23 July 2022, two additional Navajo-class ships were ordered from Austal.[3]

Graphic representation of a Navajo-class towing, salvage and rescue ship
Class overview
NameNavajo class
BuildersGulf Island Fabrication
Operators United States Navy
Preceded by
CostUS$129.9 million
Planned9
On order6
Building3
Completed0
Active0
General characteristics
TypeTowing, Salvage and Rescue Ship
Displacement5,110 long tons (5,190 t)
Length263 ft (80 m)
Beam59 ft (18 m)
Draft17.7 ft (5.4 m)
Depth24.6 ft (7.5 m)
PropulsionDiesel: Wartsila 2 x 8L32 at 6308 Hp Each
Speed15.1 knots (28.0 km/h; 17.4 mph)
Range8,170 nmi (15,130 km; 9,400 mi)
Complement42 sailors

Development

Eight ships of the class were planned to replace the aging Safeguard-class rescue and salvage ships and Powhatan-class tugboats. They were ordered in 2017 and on 16 March 2018 Gulf Island Fabrication was chosen to construct them. On 26 March 2020, an additional two ships were ordered by the navy. On 19 April 2021, Gulf Island announced that they had sold the contract along with the shipyard to Bollinger Shipyards.[4][5][6][7]

Ships in class
Navajo-class construction data
Name Hull number Builder Laid down Launched Commissioned Status
Navajo T-ATS-6 Gulf Island Fabrication 30 October 2019[8] 24 May 2023[9] Under construction
Cherokee Nation T-ATS-7 12 February 2020[10] Under construction
Saginaw Ojibwe Anishinabek T-ATS-8 3 October 2022[11] Under construction
Lenni Lenape T-ATS-9 Bollinger Shipyards Ordered
Muscogee Creek Nation T-ATS-10 Under construction[12]
Billy Frank Jr. T-ATS-11 Austal USA[13] Under construction[14]
Solomon Atkinson T-ATS-12 Under construction[14]
Unnamed T-ATS-13 Ordered[15]
Unnamed T-ATS-14 Ordered[16]
Unnamed T-ATS-15 Ordered[17]

References
  1. Paulus, Chris (15 January 2020). "USNS NAVAJO (T-ATS 6) Class Towing, Salvage, and Rescue Ship Overview Briefing for Surface Navy Association Symposium" (PDF). Support Ships, Boats and Craft Program Office. Retrieved 19 February 2021.
  2. "Austal USA awarded $145 million multi-ship contract for U.S. Navy Towing, Salvage, and Rescue Ship (T-ATS)" (Press release). Austal USA. 5 October 2021.
  3. "Austal USA To Build Two More Navajo-Class T-ATS For US Navy". Naval News. 23 July 2022.
  4. "Gulf Island Announces Sale of Shipyard Division Assets and Long-Term Contracts" (Press release). Gulf Island Fabrication. 19 April 2021. Retrieved 22 April 2021.
  5. "US Navy orders further two Navajo-class towing and salvage ships". Defense Brief. 26 March 2020. Retrieved 17 February 2021.
  6. Burgess, Richard R. (26 March 2020). "Navy Orders Two More Navajo-Class Towing, Salvage, Rescue Ships". Seapower. Retrieved 17 February 2021.
  7. "US Navy exercises option for additional two Navajo-class ships". Naval Today. 9 April 2020. Retrieved 17 February 2021.
  8. "Keel Laid for First-in-Class T-ATS" (Press release). United States Navy. 31 October 2019. Retrieved 17 February 2021.
  9. Vavasseur, Xavier (27 May 2023). "US Navy's First Navajo-class T-ATS launched by Bollinger". Naval News. Retrieved 27 May 2023.
  10. "Keel Laid for Future USNS Cherokee Nation (T-ATS 7)" (Press release). Naval Sea Systems Command. 13 February 2020. Retrieved 17 February 2021.
  11. "Keel Authenticated for the Future USNS Saginaw Ojibwe Anishinabek" (Press release). United States Navy. 5 October 2022. Retrieved 6 October 2022.
  12. Bahtić, Fatima (8 March 2023). "Bollinger kicks off construction of US Navy's T-ATS 10". Naval Today. Retrieved 10 March 2023.
  13. "Navy awards Austal USA $144.6 million two-ship T-ATS contract". Marine Log. 5 October 2021.
  14. Bahtić, Fatima (1 February 2023). "Austal kicks off construction of US Navy's T-ATS 12". Naval Today. Retrieved 7 February 2023.
  15. No Name (ATS13)
  16. No Name (ATS14)
  17. Bahtić, Fatima (19 June 2023). "Austal USA to build another Navajo-class T-ATS for US Navy". Naval Today. Retrieved 19 June 2023.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.