Diane Bemus Patrick News

Over 400 naval and shipyard guests attended the ceremony, which was held underneath and between the iconic twin hulls of the fourth Joint High Speed Vessels (JHSV) 'USNS Fall River'. The Honorable Ray Mabus, Secretary of the Navy, was the principal speaker at the event. The 338-foot catamaran vessel was named Fall River by Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus, after the tenth largest city in the state of Massachusetts. The ship’s sponsor, Mrs. Diane Bemus Patrick, the First Lady of Massachusetts, has her own record of excellence and distinguished professional and public service.

Austal held a keel-laying ceremony for the fourth Joint High Speed Vessel Fall River (JHSV 4), one of ten Austal-designed 103-meter U.S. Navy Joint High Speed Vessels under contract with the U.S. Navy. The ship’s sponsor, Diane Bemus Patrick, was present at the ceremony to authenticate the keel. Mrs. Patrick, First Lady of Massachusetts where the city of Fall River is located, was chosen to sponsor the ship by Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus. Mrs. Patrick was assisted by Doc Selvie who is an “A” Class welder that has been part of the Austal team since May of 2007.