General Dynamics NASSCO completed the complex float out operation for the first Mobile Landing Platform (MLP) ship, USNS Montford Point. Construction of the USNS Montford Point is progressing ahead of schedule, with the ship currently at 91% complete. The ship will now undergo final outfitting and testing pier side before completing sea trials. USNS Montford Point is scheduled to be christened in March 2013 and delivered to the U.S. Navy in May 2013. Fabrication of the second MLP, the USNS John Glenn, began in April 2012. Following a keel laying ceremony in December, this second MLP ship will be erected in the same building dock as the USNS Montford Point.
The MLP is a new class and type of auxiliary support ship, as part of the U.S. Navy’s Maritime Prepositioning Force of the Future (MPF-F) program. The ship will serve as a transfer station or floating pier at sea, improving the U.S. military’s ability to deliver equipment and cargo from ship to shore when land bases do not exist. It will provide capability for large scale logistics movements such as the transfer of vehicles and equipment from sea to shore.