August 2016
New jobs for members of the SIU Government Services Division are on the way, following the U.S. Navy’s recent acceptance of the USNS Carson City from Austal USA in Mobile, Alabama.
The Carson City is the seventh in a 10-ship order of aluminum catamarans formerly identified as joint high-speed vessels (JHSV). The Navy has changed the nomenclature for those ships to expeditionary fast transports, abbreviated as EPF.
Each vessel is around 338 feet long, with a beam of 93.5 feet. The ships can sail at up to 43 knots.
According to the Navy, “EPF ships are versatile, noncombatant vessels designed to operate in shallow-draft ports and waterways, increasing operational flexibility for a wide range of activities including maneuvering and sustainment, relief operations in small or damaged ports, flexible logistics support, or as the key enabler for rapid transport. They are capable of interfacing with roll-on/roll-off discharge facilities, as well as on/off-loading vehicles such as a fully combat-loaded M1 Abrams tank. Each vessel includes a flight deck to support day and night aircraft launch and recovery operations. Carson City will have airline-style seating for 312 embarked forces with fixed berthing for 104.”
The Carson City hosted a brief document-signing ceremony June 24 at the shipyard in Mobile.
“Austal is proud to provide the U.S. Navy’s Military Sealift Command fleet with yet another great ship,” Austal USA President Craig Perciavalle said. “The EPF vessels in service today have already proven to be a valuable resource for our nation performing humanitarian missions and other necessary fleet services worldwide, and we’re excited to deliver another ship that will add to that global capability.”
Three more EPFs are under construction: the Yuma, the City of Bismarck and the Burlington.
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