Dominique Stump
Huntington Ingalls Industries‘ sixth National Security Cutter ship for the U.S. Coast Guard has completed the three-day builder’s sea trials held at the Gulf of Mexico.
Munro underwent ship propulsion, electrical systems, anchor handling, small boat operations, damage control and combat systems tests as well as a four-hour, full-power propulsion run during the trial, HII said Tuesday.
Derek Murphy, HII’s Coast Guard program manager, said the company built on the experience it gained from the construction of the first five NSCs and was able to bring Munro to sea five weeks earlier than previous NSCs.
NSCs are equipped with an aft launch and recovery area to accommodate two rigid-hull inflatable boats and a flight deck that can support various manned and unmanned rotary-wing aircraft to support a number of maritime security missions.
HII noted that the Legend-class NSCs are set to replace the Hamilton-class cutters as the flagship vessels for the Coast Guard cutter fleet.
The 418-foot-long Legend-class NSCs are designed to reach speeds of up to 28 knots, support a crew of 110 and provide a range of 12,000 miles and an endurance of 60 days to support maritime homeland security, marine safety, environmental protection, law enforcement and national defense missions.
HII’s Ingalls Shipbuilding subsidiary has delivered five NSCs to the Coast Guard with the Munro, Kimball and Midgett under construction and scheduled for delivery in 2016, 2018 and 2019, respectively.
