Huntington Ingalls' shipbuilding division has started the construction of the US Coast Guard's seventh National Security Cutter (NSC), Kimball (WMSL 756), the company announced on 20 January.
Jim French, NSC program manager, Ingalls, said: 'While the official start fabrication requires 100 tonnes of steel to be cut for this ship, our shipbuilders have actually cut more than 474 tonnes so far on NSC 7. This paves the way for a successful three-year build on this ship.'
NSCs are capable of meeting all maritime security mission needs required of the High-Endurance Cutter. They include an aft launch and recovery area for two rigid hull inflatable boats and a flight deck to accommodate a range of manned and unmanned rotary-wing aircraft. The Legend class is the largest and most technologically advanced class of cutter in the Coast Guard, with capabilities for maritime homeland security, law enforcement, marine safety, environmental protection and national defence missions.
Designed to replace the 378-foot Hamilton-class High-Endurance Cutters, Ingalls has delivered the first four ships in the class and is currently building three more NSCs, with advance procurement funding already secured for an eighth ship.
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Cutters Earl Cunningham and Storis have been monitoring five Beijing research vessels navigating in the North Pole.
The multi-award contract will support the scheduled repair and maintenance of nuclear-powered attack submarines at the US Navy’s primary public shipyards.
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