Corps Sea News

Shipbuilders of General Dynamics NASSCO completes assembly & weld-out of 26,241 metric tons of steel structure for first mobile landing platform for US Navy. The final block for the first MLP ship, comprised of the ship's exhaust stacks and weighing 277 short tons, was lifted onboard via crane and installed on August 17. The final structural welds were completed August 31 and inspected by the American Bureau of Shipping and the Navy. Work is continuing on outfitting and painting the ship in preparation for a November 13 undocking. Construction of the ship is progressing on schedule and under budget, with delivery scheduled for the second quarter of 2013.

San Diego - General Dynamics NASSCO today began construction of the future USNS John Glenn, the second ship of the U.S. Navy’s Mobile Landing Platform (MLP) program. The 765-foot-long ship is scheduled to be delivered to the Navy in the first quarter of 2014. When in service, the ship will be used as an offshore staging area for Navy and Marine personnel and equipment. NASSCO has construction contracts to build a total of three MLP ships. The first ship of the class, the future USNS Montford Point, is currently 48 percent complete at the San Diego shipyard. Once delivered to the fleet, MLP ships will join the Maritime Prepositioning Force squadrons strategically located around the world to enable rapid response in a crisis.

Third Mobile Landing Platform Ship for USN ordered from General Dynamics. According to Reuters, General Dynamics Corp has won a $360 million contract to build a third 765-foot-long Mobile Landing Platform ship - a kind of "pier at sea" - for the U.S. Navy. NASSCO informs that once delivered to the fleet, MLP ships will join Maritime Prepositioning Force squadrons that are strategically located around the world to enable rapid response in a crisis. MLP vessels will change the way the Maritime Prepositioning Force operates, providing a “pier at sea,” that will become the core of the Navy/Marine Corps sea basing concept. This capability will allow prepositioning ships to offload equipment and supplies to the MLP for transshipment to shore by other vessels.

General Dynamics NASSCO hosted a keel laying ceremony for the first Mobile Landing Platform (MLP) ship at the company’s shipyard in San Diego. Mrs. Pat Mills was the honoree for the ceremony. She is the wife of U.S. Marine Corps Lieutenant General Richard P. Mills, Deputy Commandant for Combat Development and Integration. Mrs. Mills validated the keel laying by welding her initials into the ship’s structure. The steel plate with her initials will be permanently affixed to the ship’s keel, remaining with the vessel throughout its time in service.