The U.S. Navy named a new class of towing, salvage and rescue ships to honor Native Americans for their contributions to the military. The new Navajo class will consist of ships designed to perform towing activities, aid in submarine rescue missions and support salvage efforts with the Military Sealift Command, the service branch said Tuesday.
The class will build on commercial towing ships and succeed the Navy’s current Powhatan and Safeguard classes of salvage vessels. The future USNS Navajo or T-ATS 6 will serve as the name of the ship. Construction will occur in Houma, La., through March 2021.
Gulf Island Shipyards will design and build the new ship under a $63.5M contract and potentially work on seven more vessels under inclusive options.
