Auxiliary Dry Cargo Carrier News

The Military Sealift Command (MSC) auxiliary dry cargo carrier USNS Lewis and Clark, (T-AKE 1), is launched into San Diego Harbor after a christening ceremony held at the National Steel and Shipbuilding Company, (NASSCO) in San Diego, Calif. Lewis and Clark is the first of the newest class of underway replenishment ships built for naval service and is named in honor of the legendary explorers. Direct descendents of Capt. Meriwether Lewis and Lt. William Clark, Mrs. Jane Lewis Sale Henley and Ms. Lisa Clark, were on hand to help celebrate the launching of their ancestor's namesake. U.S. Navy photo by Photographer's Mate 3rd Class Timothy F. Sosa (RELEASED)

National Steel and Shipbuilding Company (NASSCO) was awarded a $1.5 million study contract for the first phase of the U.S. Navy's Auxiliary Dry Cargo Carrier T-ADC(X) Program. The T-ADC(X) program, which is a new class of Dry Cargo Carrier auxiliaries for the U.S. Navy's Combat Logistics Force, is intended to replace the Navy's aging Combat Stores Ships and Ammunition Ships that have exhausted their service runs. NASSCO is one of the four competing shipyards to be granted a contract for Phase I of the program. During this phase, each shipyard team will conduct trade-off studies and analyses to design an improved cargo handling system, which will require fewer people to operate and maintain over the life of the system.