Northern Solomon Islands News

HII’s Ingalls Shipbuilding division on Saturday christened the U.S. Navy’s third America-class amphibious assault ship Bougainville (LHA 8).“Today is not only a day to celebrate our namesake, representatives of the successful outcome of a World War II campaign, but also the team work and collaboration of our United States Navy and Marine Corps that enabled it,” Ingalls Shipbuilding President Kari Wilkinson said. “To fulfil our mission here in the shipyard, our sailors and Marines…

The keel laying and authentication ceremony for the America-class amphibious warship USS Bougainville (LHA 8) was held at the Huntington Ingalls Industries’ Ingalls Shipbuilding division (HII),  yesterday (March 14).The ship’s sponsor, Ellyn Dunford, spouse of Gen. Joe Dunford, 19th chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, declared the keel "truly and fairly laid" after her initials were welded onto a plate.Traditionally, keel laying marks the first step in ship construction. However, with today’s advanced modular shipbuilding, the keel laying ceremony now recognizes the joining together of a ship’s components and is a major milestone in the ship’s construction.

U.S. shipbuilder Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) announced its Ingalls Shipbuilding division started building the next America-class amphibious assault ship for the U.S. Navy, on Monday.The official start of fabrication on Bougainville (LHA 8) signifies that the shipyard is ready for sustained production and ready to move forward with the construction of the 257-meter warship.“The start of Bougainville, our 16th large-deck amphib, allows us to continue the serial production of these great ships,” said Ingalls Shipbuilding President Brian Cuccias.

Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) said its Ingalls Shipbuilding division has been awarded a $3 billion contract for the detail design and construction of the new U.S. Navy amphibious assault ship Bougainville (LHA 8). Ingalls was awarded the original long-lead material contract for the third ship in the America (LHA 6) class on June 30, 2016. “Our shipbuilders do an outstanding job building large-deck amphibious warships,” Ingalls Shipbuilding President Brian Cuccias said. Construction is scheduled to begin in the fourth quarter of 2018, and delivery is expected in 2024.