The following is the text of two news releases from Austal Ltd.:
(MOBILE, Ala.) — Austal Ltd. announced that expeditionary fast transport 6 (EPF 6) was delivered to the U.S. Navy on Jan. 14 during a ceremony aboard the ship at Austal USA’s shipyard in Mobile, Ala.
The delivery of the USNS Brunswick (EPF 6) marks the first ship in its class Austal has delivered to the Navy in 2016.
Austal Chief Executive Officer Andrew Bellamy said it’s a testament to the dedication and skill of Austal’s work force.
“The EPF program is now mature and stable. The entire team at Austal USA has much to be proud of in achieving this. It’s a great ship and a great program,” Bellamy said.
Three additional EPFs, formerly joint high speed vessels (JHSVs), remain under construction in Mobile as part of a 10-ship, $1.6 billion block-buy contract from the U.S. Navy. The future USNS Carson City (EPF 7) was christened on Friday and will launch soon after, while modules for Yuma (EPF 8) and Bismarck (EPF 9) are under construction in Austal’s module manufacturing facility. Construction of Burlington (EPF 10) is expected to begin later in 2016.
EPF 11 and 12 were fully funded by Congress in the 2015 and 2016 Omnibus Appropriations bills. Shipbuilding contracts for EPF 11 and 12 have not yet been finalized, however the Navy awarded Austal a $54 million contract in October to fund long-lead materials for EPF 11.
USNS Carson City christened
(MOBILE, Ala.) — Austal celebrated the christening of expeditionary fast transport USNS Carson City (EPF 7) with a ceremony Friday morning at its state-of-the-art shipyard here. USNS Carson City is the seventh of 10 expeditionary fast transport vessels (EPF), formerly joint high speed vessels (JHSV), that Austal has under contract with the U.S. Navy as part of a $1.6 billion 10-ship block-buy contract.
EPF 7, a 338-foot shallow draft aluminum catamaran, is a multi-mission, non-combatant transport vessel characterized by its high volume, high speed, and flexibility. It is the second U.S. Navy ship to be named Carson City after the capital city of Nevada.
When Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus officially named EPF 7 in April 2013, he said, "Carson City displays American values of community, ingenuity and perseverance at their best.” He said he chose to name the ship after Carson City to honor those values and the men and women of the community as well as the state of Nevada.
Carson City will soon join its sister EPFs that have been delivered over the last three years, including USNS Spearhead (T-EPF 1), which has over 100,000 nautical miles at sea and is currently on its fifth deployment since it was delivered in 2012.
“We’re very excited to christen Carson City, and at how well this ship is coming together,” Austal USA President Craig Perciavalle said. “The EPF program has really matured very well thanks to the incredible shipbuilding team we have here at Austal, including our Navy teammates.”
The ship’s sponsor, Susan Asbury Crowell, is the daughter of U.S. Air Force Col. Robert Asbury and wife of Capt. Robert Crowell, USN (retired). Susan Crowell and her husband have called Carson City home since the early 1970s. Active in her community, Susan has been a long-standing member of the Nevada Opera Association as well as president of the Brewery Arts Board of Directors and a member of the Mile High Jazz Band board, two of the premier organizations promoting all art forms in Nevada’s capital city. She has also served on the Carson Tahoe Hospital Foundation board of directors and is currently a member of the Carson Tahoe Hospital advisory board.
Three EPFs and six littoral combat ships (LCS) are currently under construction in Austal’s Mobile, Ala., shipyard. The company is scheduled to launch EPF 7 before the end of the month, while the future USS Montgomery (LCS 8) prepares for its acceptance sea trials later this spring.
