MTD President David Heindel, Executive Board Member Augie Tellez and Delaware Valley PMC Secretary-Treasurer Joe Baselice represented the Department on June 26 at the Empire State’s christening ceremony, hosted by Philly Shipyard.
The union-built ship is the first of five in a class known as National Security Multi-Mission Vessels (NSMV). The Philadelphia Metal Trades Council, which represents Philly Shipyard workers, comprises locals of several MTD affiliates including Boilermakers, Electrical Workers, Operating Engineers, Painters, Ironworkers, Sheet Metal Workers, and the United Association.
U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney (D-Connecticut) issued a related statement that is available HERE.
MARAD posted an announcement HERE.
As previously noted by the agency, “MARAD provides ships from the National Defense Reserve Fleet (NDRF) as training vessels for the six state maritime academies. The agency is currently working to replace these older ships with new, purpose-built training vessels that will better meet the academies training needs while also providing the U.S. with ships that can support disaster response and other critical national needs. The NSMV is designed to provide a state-of-the-art training platform that ensures the U.S. continues to set the world standard in maritime training. The ship is outfitted with numerous training spaces to include eight classrooms, a full training bridge, lab spaces and an auditorium. The NSMV has space to train up to 600 cadets at sea, maximizing the capability of the ship and its mission to provide our cadets with a world-class education.”
MARAD further reported, “In addition to being an educational platform, this vessel is a highly functional national asset. Designed to fulfill numerous roles, the NSMV can effectively support the federal response to national disasters such as Hurricanes Maria and Harvey. The vessel will have state-of-the-art hospital facilities, a helicopter landing pad and the ability to berth up to 1,000 people in times of humanitarian need. Alongside its humanitarian capacities, the NSMV has a roll-on/roll-off ramp and container storage allowing it to provide aid to damaged ports…. Investment in the NSMV will foster the growth of the Nation’s maritime transportation workforce, men and women working in the shipbuilding and repair industry, while addressing a critical shortage of U.S. merchant mariners needed to crew commercial and government-owned sealift ships during a military crisis.”