Huntington Ingalls Industries’ (NYSE:HII) Ingalls Shipbuilding division delivered the National Security Cutter Munro (WMSL 755) to the U.S. Coast Guard Friday (Dec 16,2016). Munro is scheduled to sail away in February and will be commissioned in Seattle on April 1, 2017.

“Three years ago, this ship consisted of nothing more than steel plates, raw pipe and bundled wire,” said Derek Murphy, Ingalls’ NSC 6 program manager. “Since then, we’ve seen an amazing transformation, made possible by the thousands of people who poured their heart and soul into this ship. We have a mission statement in the NSC program that says during the construction of each NSC we will provide the men and women of the United States Coast Guard with the finest ship in their fleet. This excellence will be provided by our shipbuilders through working safely, attention to detail and ownership of work.”

The National Security Cutter Munro completed builder's sea trials in August. Photo by Lance Davis/HII

Munro is the sixth Legend-class National Security Cutter Ingalls has built for the Coast Guard. Ingalls currently has two more NSCs under construction: Kimball (WMSL 756) and Midgett (WMSL 757). These ships are scheduled to be delivered in 2018 and 2019, respectively.

“This is a remarkable achievement in my career and the career of the personnel serving on Munro,” said Thomas King, commanding officer of Munro. “National Security Cutters are a great benefit to the Coast Guard because they have the capabilities to fulfill missions while acting independently offshore.”

Munro is named to honor Signalman First Class Douglas A. Munro, the Coast Guard’s sole recipient of the Medal of Honor. He was mortally wounded on Sept. 27, 1942, while evacuating a detachment of Marines from Guadalcanal.

Derek Murphy (right), Ingalls’ NSC program manager, presents the key plaque to Capt. Thomas King, Munro’s commanding officer, with Christopher Webb, commanding officer of the U.S. Coast Guard’s Project Resident Office Gulf Coast, observing. Photo by Andrew Young/HII

Legend-class NSCs are the flagships of the Coast Guard’s cutter fleet. Designed to replace the 378‐foot Hamilton-class high-endurance cutters that entered service in the 1960s, they are 418 feet long with a 54-foot beam and displace 4,500 tons with a full load. They have a top speed of 28 knots, a range of 12,000 miles, an endurance of 60 days and a crew of 110.

NSCs are capable of meeting all maritime security mission needs required of the high-endurance cutter. They include an aft launch and recovery area for two rigid hull inflatable boats and a flight deck to accommodate a range of manned and unmanned rotary wing aircraft.

The Legend class is the largest and most technologically advanced class of cutter in the Coast Guard, with robust capabilities for maritime homeland security, law enforcement, marine safety, environmental protection and national defense missions. NSCs play an important role enhancing the Coast Guard’s operational readiness, capacity and effectiveness at a time when the demand for their services has never been greater.

Source: HII