USA: General Dynamics NASSCO has hosted a keel-laying ceremony for the first mobile landing platform (MLP) ship at the company's shipyard in San Diego.
Delivery of the first MLP ship is scheduled for May 2013. The 233-metre long ship will be used as staging areas for the US Navy and Marines. The first MLP ship will be named 'Montford Point'.
Once delivered to the fleet, MLP ships will join the three Maritime Prepositioning Force squadrons that are strategically located around the world to enable rapid response in a crisis. MLP vessels will change the way the Maritime Prepositioning Force operates, providing a "pier at sea" that will become the core of the Navy/Marine Corps sea-basing concept. This capability will allow prepositioning ships to offload equipment and supplies to the MLP for transshipment to shore by other vessels.
