The previous USNS Navajo makes its way toward the Golden Gate Bridge with Alcatraz Island in the background Saturday, May 3, 2014. The next USNS Navajo will enter service in the coming months (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)
Copyright 2014 AP. All rights reserved.
Much attention is now being paid to delays with the United States Navy’s second Gerald R. Ford-class nuclear-powered supercarrier, the future USS John F. Kennedy (CVN-79). The carrier, which was supposed to be delivered this past July, continues to run behind schedule and likely won’t enter service until at least March 2027, a delay of two years.
By contrast, this week, the keel was laid for the fourth Navajo-class towing, salvage, and rescue ship, also known as “Fleet Ocean Tugs.”
That program, which initially called for 10 vessels, is a surprising example of a U.S. Navy program that has largely stayed on schedule and met production milestones. When completed, the Navajo-class will replace the aging Safeguard-class rescue and salvage ships as well as Powhatan-class tugboats now in service.
T-ATS-9 Laid Down
The keel of the future USNS Lenni Leape (T-ATS-9), the sixth T-ATS, was laid down at the Gulf Island Fabrication in Houma, Louisiana, now run by Bollinger Shipyards. The shipbuilder, which constructs many of the United States Coast Guard’s patrol vessels, has more than a dozen shipyards and around 40 dry docks throughout Louisiana and Texas.
The latest T-ATS vessel is the first United States Navy vessel to honor the Lenape Nation of Pennsylvania.
“Bollinger is grateful for the Navy’s continued confidence in our team to build the Navajo-class Towing, Salvage and Rescue Ships,” said Ben Bordelon, president and CEO of Bollinger Shipyards, in a statement to the media.
“The keel laying of the future USNS Lenni Lenape marks another significant milestone in our partnership, and we are honored to support the Navy’s fleet modernization efforts through the T-ATS program,” added Bordelon.
Bollinger is also constructing the USNS Navajo (T-ATS 6), USNS Cherokee Nation (T-ATS 7), USNS Saginaw Ojibwe Anishinabek (T-ATS 8), and USNS Muscogee Creek Nation (T-ATS 10).
Common Hull Platform
The Navajo-class vessels were designed as a multi-mission common hull platform that can be deployed to support a range of missions, including those of the Safeguard-class rescue and salvage ships and the Powhatan-class tugboats now in service with the U.S. Military Sealift Command. The new class will serve as multirole vessels, employed in towing, rescue, salvage, humanitarian assistance, oil spill response, and even wide-area search and surveillance.
The Fleet Ocean Tugs can launch and recover unmanned underwater and unmanned aerial vehicles, with the UUVs and UAVs serving as force multipliers across missions.
Each Towing, Salvage, and Rescue Ship (T-ATS) of the Navajo-class will be capable of towing the U.S. Navy warships and will have 6,000 square feet of deck space for embarked systems. That includes the DP2 submarine emergency response vessel, which can be lowered into the water via an installed deck crane with a lifting capacity of 40 tons.
Earlier this year, Austral USA was awarded a follow-on Detail Design and Construction contract for the construction of T-ATS 11 through 15. It began construction of the USNS Billy Frank Jr (T-ATS 11), USNS Solomon Atkinson (T-ATS 12), USNS James D. Fairbanks (T-ATS 13), USNS Narragansett (T-ATS 14), and T-ATS 15 (name TBD) at its Alabama facility.
Modern Ocean Tugs
Each of the T-ATS vessels is approximately 263 feet long, 59 feet wide, and has a displacement of 5,110 tons. Two Wärtsilä diesel engines power the Navajo-class fleet ocean tugs and can reach a top speed of 15 knots, with an operational range of over 8,100 nautical miles. The complement of each fleet ocean tug will consist of 23 crewmembers, with additional accommodations for up to 42 additional personnel.
Current plans call for USNS Navajo to enter service early next year. She was christened in August 2023 and has been undergoing final construction and sea trials. T-ATS 6 will be the fifth U.S. Navy vessel, and second USNS ship. All have been tugs, beginning with AT-52, which saw service before the Second World War, and AT-64, an ongoing tugboat that earned two battle stars in the war before being sunk in 1943. The most recent USNS Navajo (T-ATF-159) was a Powhatan-class tugboat that was retired in 2016.
The second T-ATS vessel, USNS Cherokee Nation, was commissioned in June 2024 and is also set to join the fleet in early FY26.