Keel laid for US Navy’s first Navajo-class towing and salvage ship

Gulf Island Fabrication laid the keel of the future USNS Navajo, the first of a new class of towing, salvage, and rescue vessels (T-ATS), on Wednesday, October 30.

The Navajo-class vessels will provide ocean-going tug, salvage, and rescue capabilities to support US Navy fleet operations. The current capabilities are provided by three T-ATF 166 and two T-ARS 50 class ships, which will reach the end of their expected service lives starting in 2020.

The future Navajo and its sisters will be capable of towing US Navy ships and will have 557 square metres of deck space for embarked systems. The vessel will have a length of 80 metres, have a beam of 18 metres, and a carrying capacity of nearly 1,800 tonnes.