USNS MENDONCA (T-AKR 303), the fourth of seven BOB HOPE Class Strategic Sealift ships being built by Litton Avondale Industries was delivered to the U.S. Navy on January 30, 2001, ahead of schedule. MENDONCA and her sister ships of the class are designed to support the nation's ability to deploy military equipment and supplies quickly to U.S. troops around the world and provide pre-positioning and surge sealift capacity to contingency areas worldwide. The 950-ft.-long, large, medium-speed, RoRo (LMSR) ships of the BOB HOPE Class are among the largest in the Navy fleet. "A remarkable team has developed among the New Orleans Supervisor of Shipbuilding…