Brian
Leathers, Austal USA Interim President and Chief Financial Officer commented:
“This is the ship’s first voyage, one of many in its future. Austal designed
this ship to serve as a rapid transit workhorse for our military to assist in
humanitarian efforts and to transport troops and their equipment from port to
port. It is due to the important role that it will play in intra-theatre
deployment / transportation that the Austal JHSV team takes such pride in our
part in facilitating the success of the JHSV program.”
On
October 1, 2012, Austal USA successfully completed the launch process of the
second Joint High Speed Vessel (JHSV), the recently christened USNS Choctaw
County (JHSV 2). This 103-metre high-speed catamaran represents the US
Department of Defense’s next generation multi-use platform. It is part of a
10-ship program potentially worth over US$1.6 billion.
The
launch of USNS Choctaw County was conducted in a multi-step process as follows:
1. On
Sunday, September 30, Goldhofer self-propelled modular transporters (SPMTs)
lifted the entire 1,600-metric-ton ship almost three feet (0.9m) in the air and
moved the JHSV approximately 400 feet (120m) onto a moored deck barge adjacent
to the assembly bay.
2. The
deck barge with USNS Choctaw County onboard was towed a half mile down river to
BAE Systems’ Southeast Shipyard, Mobile.
3. The
vessel was transferred to the Drydock Alabama, BAE’s floating dry dock.
4.
October 1, the floating dry dock was submerged and USNS Choctaw County entered
the water for the first time.
5. USNS
Choctaw County was taken from the drydock and towed back up river to Austal
USA’s facility, where it will undergo final outfitting and activation before
sea trials and delivery to the Navy.
This
process was initially used during the launch event for the Independence-variant
Littoral Combat Ship Coronado (LCS 4) in January 2012. A major improvement in
safety and efficiency, the new roll-out method has reduced the time of the
transfer process, and serves as a capstone in Austal’s effort to reduce cost
and time required in future JHSV and LCS deliveries.
On
October 1, 2012, Austal USA successfully completed the launch process of the
second Joint High Speed Vessel (JHSV), the recently christened USNS Choctaw
County (JHSV 2). This 103-metre high-speed catamaran represents the US
Department of Defense’s next generation multi-use platform. It is part of a
10-ship program potentially worth over US$1.6 billion.
BAE
Systems Southeast Shipyard’s Director and General Manager, Vic Rhoades said:
“The opportunity to team with the professional men and women of Austal to
successfully launch USNS Choctaw County (JHSV 2) is a positive step for both
organizations. By working together we can take advantage of the synergies of
both shipyards by providing the knowledge and experience from our individual
areas of expertise that will grow our respective businesses and allow us to
provide quality products at competitive prices to our customers.”
Regarding
the partnership between Austal and Berard Transportation, Braedon Berard COO
commented: “Berard's goal from the beginning has and always will be to assist
the Austal team in safely and efficiently launching the JHSV, utilizing the
most technologically advanced equipment and experienced personnel in the
nation. We feel that helping Austal, and in return the United States Navy, is
an honor that deserves our utmost effort and we look forward to future
endeavors”.
Austal
USA is a full-service shipyard offering design, construction and high-speed
vessel service and repair. As Austal USA continues to expand its service and
repair capabilities, the company is well positioned for new business with
engineering, test and trials capabilities, and a new waterfront facility all
co-located on the Mobile Bay waterfront.
Austal
is currently under contract with the US Navy to build nine 103-meter JHSVs
under a 10-ship, $1.6 billion contract and five 127-meter Independence-variant
Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) class vessels, four of which are a part of a
10-ship, $3.5 billion contract.
For the
LCS and JHSV programs, Austal, as prime contractor, is teamed with General
Dynamics Advanced Information Systems, a business unit of General Dynamics. As
the ship systems integrator, General Dynamics is responsible for the design,
integration and testing of the ship’s electronic systems including the combat
system, networks, and seaframe control. General Dynamics’ proven open
architecture approach allows for affordable and efficient capability growth as
technologies develop.
These
two contracts will require Austal to increase its Mobile, Alabama workforce to
approximately 4,000 employees in order to fulfill the contract requirements.
“With almost ten per cent of these workers expected to reside in the
neighboring states of Florida and Mississippi,” said Leathers, “we are proud
that Austal is an engine of regional growth for the Gulf.”
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