The event took place on 24 May 2023 at the Bollinger shipyard in Houma, Louisiana. Bollinger shipyards is under contract to build four more Navajo-class T-ATS while Austal USA (located nearby in Mobile) is set to build five ship of the class.
The T-ATS platform replaces and fulfills the capabilities that were previously provided by the Powhatan-class Fleet Ocean Tug (T-ATF 166) and Safeguard-class Rescue and Salvage Ships (T-ARS 50) class ships.
In addition to USNS Navajo (T-ATS 6), Bollinger is constructing USNS Cherokee Nation (T-ATS 7), USNS Saginaw Ojibwe Anishinabek (T-ATS 8), USNS Lenni Lenape (T-ATS 9) and USNS Muscogee Creek Nation (T-ATS 10).
About the Navajo-class
The Navajo-class is a new series of towing, salvage and rescue ships (T-ATS) being constructed for the U.S. Navy. The Navajo-class is a multi-mission common hull platform that will be deployed to support a range of missions such as towing, rescue, salvage, humanitarian assistance, oil spill response and wide-area search and surveillance operations using unmanned underwater vehicles (UUV) and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV). The vessels will replace the existing Powhatan-class T-ATF fleet ocean tugs and Safeguard-class T-ARS rescue and salvage ships in service with the US Military Sealift Command.
| General characteristics | |
|---|---|
| Type | Towing, Salvage and Rescue Ship |
| Displacement | 5,110 long tons |
| Length | 263 ft (80 m) |
| Beam | 59 ft (18 m) |
| Draft | 17.7 ft (5.4 m) |
| Depth | 24.6 ft (7.5 m) |
| Propulsion | Diesel: Wartsila 2 x 8L32 at 6308 Hp Each |
| Speed | 15.1 knots (28.0 km/h; 17.4 mph) |
| Range | 8,170 nmi (15,130 km; 9,400 mi) |
| Crew Complement | 42 sailors |
