Philly shipyard ceremony celebrated the third keel laying of an NSMV vessel in 18 months.
The National Security Multi-Mission Vessel (NSMV) coaching ship program is rolling proper alongside. On May 1, Philly Shipyard hosted a keel laying ceremony for the third of the 5 new objective constructed, state-of-the-art coaching vessels it’s constructing for America’s state maritime academies. This third vessel is scheduled to be delivered to Maine Maritime Academy in 2024.
“Today, we reached another great shipbuilding milestone for our shipyard and the NSMV program as a whole,” mentioned Steinar Nerbovik, president & CEO of Philly Shipyard. “At the moment, we have three vessels taking shape in our docks and a fourth being fabricated in our production shops. We wish the Maine Maritime students good luck with final exam week and look forward to welcoming the cadets in a few weeks to see the progress on their new ship and to tour our yard. I want to thank everyone involved in this project as we continue on this exciting new build process.”
“Today we celebrate the third keel laying of an NSMV vessel in 18 months, demonstrating the efficiency and success of this unique construction management program that is helping recapitalize our nation’s maritime training fleet at academies from coast to coast,” mentioned Jeff Dixon, president of TOTE Services, which was chosen as MARAD’s vessel development supervisor (VCM) for the NSMV program in May 2019.
In April 2020, TOTE Services awarded Philly Shipyard a contract to assemble as much as 5 NSMVs. These ships will likely be owned and operated by MARAD.
NDRF VESSELS IN THE FUTURE?
While the NSMV program addresses the difficulty of MARAD’s getting older coaching vessels, the Ready Reserve Force fleet can also be getting older. In testimony on the MARAD price range request again in March, Maritime Administrator Ann Phillips famous that, within the FY 2023 NDAA, MARAD was directed to develop a Roll-On/Roll-Off ship design for the development of 10 new vessels for the NDRF to start development in 2024. In response to this directive, she mentioned the RRF program is documenting the mandatory actions to quickly implement a restricted shipbuilding program. Modeled after the NSMV program, this shipbuilding effort would leverage industrial practices and make the most of a vessel development supervisor to hurry deliveries. At this time, MARAD exercise is proscribed to growing the implementation plan and the necessities for a conce
