Navy And Marine Brass, Members Of Congress Visit Shipyards

A delegation from the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps, along with Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) and Rep. Jerry Carl (R-Ala.), visited a trio of shipyards along the Gulf Coast March 4, including Huntington Ingalls and Bollinger Shipyards’ facilities in Pascagoula, Miss., and Austal USA’s Mobile, Ala., yard.

Wicker, the top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee and a vocal supporter of the Jones Act, said the tours alongside Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Lisa Franchetti; Gen. Christopher Mahoney, assistant commandant of the Marine Corps; Rear Adm. Tom Anderson, the program executive officer for the Navy’s Program Executive Office Ships (PEO Ships); and Carl were well worth the trip.

“I will always showcase our skilled Gulf Coast shipbuilders and the impressive work they do,” Wicker said. “The Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard and world benefit from what comes out of our shipyards. As one of Mississippi’s U.S. senators and the ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, I look for every opportunity to advance our region’s national defense contributions. This visit was worthwhile.”

At Austal USA’s facility, the delegation was able to track the progress on the latest Independence-class littoral combat ship (LCS) from that shipyard.

“The littoral combat ship is important to our Navy,” Franchetti said. “These platforms have the capability to do multiple missions, and we have a validated need for them. Around the world today, LCS is playing a valuable role in the surface warfare mission and is expanding to support the mine countermeasures mission and unmanned surface vessel operations.”

The group also viewed construction of Saildrone’s first aluminum Surveyor unmanned surface vessel (USV), built at Austal USA and launched March 6. Franchetti and Mahoney said that new technology has the potential to enhance the Navy and Marine Corps’ combat abilities by complementing existing forces and operations.

“Using unmanned assets helps put more players on the field by freeing up manned assets for more specific and important tasks,” Franchetti said. “It’s good to see high-tech industry partnering with the traditional shipbuilding industrial base to rapidly deliver cutting-edge products at scale.”

Mahoney echoed that enthusiasm.

“We are at the brink of a new battlefield where uncrewed systems, at scale, will provide new levels of resilience and adaptability for our forces,” he said. “Integrating Marines, amphibious warfare ships and medium landing ships into that equation opens up some great advantages in competition and conflict. I join the [Chief of Naval Operations] in advocating for continued integration between our two services and the joint force to optimize manned-unmanned teaming.”

The Surveyor features multibeam sonar equipment able to map seafloor depths up to 36,000 feet and can be outfitted with a variety of defense and security payloads. According to Saildrone, Austal is able to turn out a Surveyor vessel every six weeks, with capacity to scale up production to meet demand.

“It was great to show Adm. Franchetti our amazing workforce in action,” said Austal USA acting President Michelle Kruger. “To have a group of the most senior leadership of the Navy, Marine Corps and Congress visit our shipyard is the best way to demonstrate how the Austal USA workforce is leading the way in shipbuilding and repair, autonomy and additive manufacturing to meet the nation’s most important defense needs head on.”

At the Ingalls shipyard, the federal delegation toured guided missile destroyers USS Zumwalt and Ted Stevens, the amphibious assault ship Bougainville and the amphibious transport dock Richard M. McCool Jr. Ingalls just completed acceptance trials for the McCool.

“It’s been just over two years since McCool’s launch, and because of each and every one of you, this ship will be ready and fiercely capable in this decisive decade and for the many decades that follow,” Franchetti said to shipyard workers and the crew of the Richard M. McCool Jr. “I want each of you to know that I am proud of you, and I’m proud of all that you are doing to ensure our Navy remains the most powerful Navy in the world.”

Mahoney said the work at shipyards like Ingalls in Pascagoula has an important impact on both the nation’s economic wellbeing and its national security.

“The importance of these shipyards cannot be overstated,” Mahoney said. “Manufacturing and production are essential to a strong economy, and America’s maritime advantage relies on the ships that carry our Marines and Sailors around the globe. Both of those things are on display here—on these lines with these hard-working men and women. It was great to meet some of them and hear their stories. Their work is critical to our national defense.”

At the nearby Bollinger Mississippi shipyard in Pascagoula, the group from Washington was briefed on government projects in Bollinger’s portfolio, including oceanographic survey ships (T-AGS) and the auxiliary personnel lighter-small (APL) class berthing and messing barge. In December 2023, Bollinger delivered its fifth APL to the Navy.

The delegation also received an update on Bollinger’s work on its first polar security cutter (PSC) for the U.S. Coast Guard. Bollinger began cutting steel on the Polar Sentinel (PSC-1) in August 2023. The Polar Sentinel will be the first new icebreaker to enter service since the 1970s. Bollinger is also involved in the Coast Guard’s Fast Response Cutter program and is a subcontractor for the Coast Guard’s much-anticipated Waterways Commerce Cutter (WCC) program. Bollinger has delivered more than 180 vessels to the U.S. Coast Guard over the past 35 years.

“Bollinger Shipyards was honored to welcome Adm. Franchetti, Gen. Mahoney and Sen. Wicker to Pascagoula,” said Ben Bordelon, president and CEO of Bollinger Shipyards. “We take great pride in our contribution to the strength and readiness of America’s naval forces and remain dedicated to maintaining our legacy of quality, durability and innovation in shipbuilding. This visit provided a unique opportunity to demonstrate our capabilities and ongoing commitment to fulfilling the critical needs of our military, both today and in the years to come.”

Caption for top photo: Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Lisa Franchetti and Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps Gen. Christopher Mahoney joined U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss, for a visit to Huntington Ingalls Industries in Pascagoula, Miss. (Photo courtesy of Huntington Ingalls Industries)