Austal, the Australian-based shipbuilding company christened the Expeditionary Fast Transport USNS Carson City (EPF 7) during a ceremony at the company’s shipyard in Alabama, USA, on January 15.
USNS Carson City is the seventh of 10 Expeditionary Fast Transport vessels (EPF), formerly joint high speed vessels (JHSV), that Austal has under contract with the U.S. Navy as part of a $1.6 billion 10-ship block-buy contract.
EPF 7, a 338-foot shallow draft aluminum catamaran, is a multi-mission, non-combatant transport vessel. It is the second U.S. Navy ship to be named Carson City after the capital city of Nevada.
Carson City will soon join her sister EPF’s that have been delivered over the last three years including USNS Spearhead (T-EPF 1) which has over 100,000 nautical miles at sea and is currently on her fifth deployment since she was delivered in 2012.
Austal USA president Craig Perciavalle said: “We’re very excited to have christened Carson City, and at how well this ship is coming together. The EPF program has really matured very well thanks to the incredible shipbuilding team we have here at Austal, including our Navy teammates.”
Three EPFs and six Littoral Combat Ships (LCS) are currently under construction in Austal’s Mobile, Ala. shipyard. The company is scheduled to launch EPF 7 before the end of the month, while the future USS Montgomery (LCS 8) prepares for its acceptance sea trials later this spring.
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