A new supply ship has been delivered to the US Navy while construction is ongoing on a sister. Other featured vessels include a locally built patrol boat for Australia's border authorities and surface combatants for the navies of Italy and Malaysia.
Australian shipbuilder Austal has launched the first Evolved Cape-class patrol boat slated for the Australian Border Force (ABF).
The vessel is one of six Evolved Cape-class boats that Austal is building for the ABF. Ten examples of the class are already in service with the Royal Australian Navy (RAN).
Austal had also earlier delivered eight of the baseline Cape-class patrol boats to the ABF between 2012 and 2015. These were followed by additional vessels delivered to the RAN in 2017, and the Trinidad and Tobago Coast Guard in 2021.
The US Navy took delivery of USNS Sojourner Truth, its newest replenishment oiler, in a ceremony in San Diego, California, on Tuesday, June 9.
The ship is the sixth in the John Lewis-class of replenishment oilers built by San Diego-based General Dynamics NASSCO. She will be operated by the navy's Military Sealift Command to provide diesel fuel and lubricating oil as well as small quantities of fresh and frozen provisions, stores, and potable water to US Navy ships at sea.
The ship also has the capacity to carry up to 157,000 barrels of oil and jet fuel for aircraft, a significant dry cargo capacity, and aviation capability courtesy of a helicopter deck.
Turkish defence shipbuilder STM has launched the second vessel in a new class of three warships that the company is building for the Royal Malaysian Navy.
The future KD Raja Laut ("King of the Sea") and her Tunku ("Prince") class sisters, which have been officially designated as littoral mission ships (LMS), will be built in Turkey with STM as the prime contractor responsible for all phases of the project from design to delivery.
STM will undertake ship design, project management, construction management, material/system procurement, integration design and installation, tests, and integrated logistics support (ILS) activities. The company will also be responsible for the preparation of design and ILS documents related to the project.
The US Navy formally named its seventh John Lewis-class replenishment oiler in a ceremony in San Diego, California, on Saturday, June 6.
Built by General Dynamics NASSCO, the ship honours former US Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall. Like her sisters, the vessel was designed to transfer fuel to the navy's operating carrier strike groups.
She will also have the ability to carry a load of 162,000 barrels of oil, maintain significant dry cargo capacity, aviation capability, and a speed of 20 knots.
Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri has laid the keel of a new multi-purpose offshore patrol vessel (pattugliatore polivalente d'altura; PPA) slated for the Italian Navy.
The ship will be the eighth Thaon di Revel-class PPA to be built by Fincantieri for the Italian Navy. Like her sisters, she will be used for a range of missions including patrols, civil protection, and search and rescue.
Upon completion, the ship will have an LOA of 143 metres, a beam of 16.5 metres, a draught of 10.5 metres, accommodation for 135 crewmembers, and deck space for an 11-metre-long rigid inflatable boat (RIB) that the crew can use for at-sea interceptions and boardings. The RIB will be deployed into and recovered from the water via davits or a stern ramp.