The UNITED STATE Navy approved shipment of its eleventh Expeditionary Fast Transport (EPF) vessel, the future USNS Puerto Rico ( T-EPF 11), from shipbuilder Austal United States in aDec 10 event held aboard the ship.
Delivery notes the main transfer of the ship from the shipbuilder to theNavy EPF 11 will certainly be had and also run by Military Sealift Command.
“We are excited to accept delivery of another versatile ship, further expanding the advantage of our civilian mariners at sea,” statedCapt Scot Searles, Strategic and also Theater Sealift program supervisor, Program Executive Office (PEO)Ships “Delivery of our eleventh ship is a testament to the inherent flexibility of the EPF class.”
INCORPORATED TESTS
The ship was the very first EPF to execute and also effectively total incorporated tests– integrating home builder’s tests and also approval tests right into one at-sea occasion– going back to port flying a mop at her pole suggesting a “clean sweep” of the examinations the ship and also her staff carried out in the Gulf of Mexico.
The Spearhead- course EPF, a 338-foot high-speed catamaran, offers high-payload transportation ability to united state contender leaders all over the world and also is called ‘the pickup truck’ of the fleet. The ship’s huge trip deck, open objective bay and also habitability rooms give a chance to perform a variety of objectives from marine protection procedures to altruistic help and also calamity alleviation objectives. The ship’s versatility likewise permits it to sustain prospective future objectives such as unique procedures, command and also control, and also main clinical procedures. With its capacity to accessibility tiny, ascetic, and also deteriorated ports with marginal exterior assistance, the EPF offers distinct choices to fleet and also contender leaders.
“We’re excited to get another EPF to the fleet,” stated Austal United StatesPresident Craig Perciavalle “The function these EPFs play in sustaining our country’s protection is impressive as shown by the numerous essential objectives EPFs have actually satisfied internationally.
Two extra Spearhead- course EPFs are incomplete at Austal’s Mobile,Ala shipyard. Newport (EPF 12) is being put up in last setting up. Construction just recently started on the future USNS Apalachicola (EPF 13) in Austal United States’s advanced component production center.