Austal Lays Keel of EPF 8 Yuma
Austal celebrated the keel-laying milestone for the Expeditionary Fast Transport vessel Yuma (EPF 8) here today with a ceremony marking a significant milestone in the ship’s construction. This ship is the eighth EPF built at Austal under the 10-ship, $1.6 billion block-buy contract awarded to Austal in 2008. Laying the keel is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. The keel runs lengthwise down the middle of the ship serving as the basic foundation or spine of the structure, providing the major source of the hull’s strength. The Honorable Douglas Nicholls, Mayor of the City of Yuma, Ariz., authenticated the keel at the ceremony by welding his initials onto an aluminum keel plate that will eventually be placed in ship’s hull.
SECNAV Visits Arizona for JHSV 8 Naming
Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus attended a ship naming ceremony for the future joint high-speed vessel (JHSV) 'USNS Yuma' (JHSV 8) in Yuma's Gateway Park. Mabus chose the name 'Yuma' as a tribute to the residents of the Arizona city and their close ties with the military. "The real reason we're here today is the people of Yuma," said Mabus. Speaking to a crowd that included Yuma's Mayor Douglas Nicholls, Mabus explained what the future may hold for JHSV 8. "The ships we build today will be a part of fleet for more than three decades. Sailors not yet born will serve in her," he said. "With her ability to operate in areas that might be otherwise inaccessible, USNS Yuma may well be the only part of America, and her Sailors the only Americans, some people in the world will ever see.
