USNS | Common News Update

May172020 by adminNo Comments

Hospital ship USNS Mercy leaves Los Angeles

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May 15 (UPI) -- The Navy hospital ship USNS Mercy left Los Angeles on Friday after serving as assistance to area hospitals dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. Mercy departed the World Cruise Center Terminal of the Port of Los Angeles for San Diego, its home base, after treating a wide variety of patients. Several surgeries, including the ship's first pacemaker replacement procedure, were performed. The 1,000-bed hospital ship arrived on March 27, not to treat COVID-19 patients but to handle other patient concerns as local hospitals dealt with the virus. The vessel is now expected to return to its home port in San Diego. Over the course of its six weeks in port in Los Angeles, the vessel treated a total of 77 patients, including 36 surgeries overall, USNI reported. "We came to Los Angele...

Mar72020 by adminNo Comments

Navy to commission USNS Hershel “Woody” Williams Saturday

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March 6 (UPI) -- The Navy will commission its newest expeditionary sea base, the USNS Hershel "Woody" Williams, at a ceremony in Norfolk, Va., Saturday morning. According to the Pentagon, U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W. Va, is slated to deliver the commissioning ceremony's principal address. Manchin will be joined by Tracie Jean Ross and Tavie Jane Ross, who are the ship's sponsors and are the daughters of Hershel "Woody" Williams, the last surviving Medal of Honor Recipient awarded for heroism at the Battle of Iwo Jima during World War II. "This ship honors a man who dedicated his life to service - heroic service as a Marine, and continued service to his fellow veterans," said Thomas Modly, the Navy's acting secretary. "This dedication will live on in USS Hershel 'Woody' Williams as the shi...

Oct232019 by adminNo Comments

USNS Burlington returns to shipyard for bow modifications

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Oct. 23 (UPI) -- Shipbuilder Austral USA received a $ 8.1 million contract to implement a bow modification to the recently-built USNS Burlington, the Pentagon said. Austral USA's Mobile, Ala., shipyard will modify the ship's bow to "10-knot Sea State 5" standards, the Navy said Tuesday in a contract announcement. The ship, delivered to the Navy in November 2018, is the 10th Spearhead-class Expeditionary Fast Transport vessel. Owned by the Military Sealift Command, its missions include overseas contingency operations, humanitarian assistance and special operations forces support. At 338 feet in length it is designed to carry up to 600 tons of cargo, 312 troops and MSC attachments over 1,300 miles between refueling, at an cruising speed of 40 miles per hour. Testing on a previously-built E...

Oct172019 by adminNo Comments

Expeditionary sea base USNS Miguel Keith completes acceptance trials

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Oct. 16 (UPI) -- The Expeditionary Sea Base ship, USNS Miguel Keith, successfully completed its acceptance trials off the California coast, the U.S. Navy announced. The vessel left the General Dynamics shipyard in San Diego last week, completing its week-long trials on Oct. 11, the Navy said on Tuesday. While not officially named yet, ESB 5 will be named for U.S. Marine Lance Cpl. Miguel Keith, who was posthumously awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for heroism in Vietnam. The USNS Miguel Keith is the third ESB variant of the Montford Point-class of Maritime Prepositioning Force vessels to be built, and is scheduled for delivery in early fiscal year 2020. Originally referred to as "mobile landing platform afloat forward staging bases," ESB vessels serve as a mobile sea base, able ...

Dec202018 by adminNo Comments

Boston Ship Repair tapped for USNS Leroy Grumman regular overhaul

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Dec. 20 (UPI) -- Boston Ship Repair has been awarded a $ 10.96 million contract for the regular overhaul dry docking of the fleet replenishment oiler USNS Leroy Grumman. The contract, announced Wednesday by the Department of Defense, funds a 60-calendar day regular overhaul of the vessel that will start on March 4, 2019 and is expected to be finished by May 2, 2019. Work on the contract will be done in Boston. The overhaul will include an overhaul of the ship's diesel generator, main engine service, and underwater hull and freeboard preservation, as well as other general services, the Pentagon said. The Grumman is a Henry J. Kaiser-class oiler used for fleet replenishment, allowing U.S. Navy vessels to remain at sea for longer periods of time. The contract includes options that, if exerci...