Seafarers International Union (SIU) affiliated Ocean Ships to operate 3 new mobile landing platform vessels (MLP) for US Navy.
The vessels are being built at General Dynamics NASSCO in San Diego; they are the USNS Montford Point, USNS John Glenn, and USNS Lewis B. Puller.
Including options, the Ocean Ships contract is for five years.
According to the U.S. Military Sealift Command, the new ships “will be the centerpiece of the Navy’s ‘Sea Base’ concept, and will serve as a transfer point for Marine Corps amphibious landing forces between large ships and small landing craft. They will provide the capability to transfer vehicles and equipment at-sea, improving the U.S. military’s ability to deliver equipment and cargo from ship to shore when land bases do not exist.”
The Montford Point is scheduled for delivery in mid-May of 2013, followed by the John Glenn in early 2014 and the Lewis Puller in early 2015.