Nine ships to be inactivated

ARLINGTON, Va. - The Navy plans to inactivate nine ships in FY 2021, according to a June 30 message to the fleet from the chief of naval operations. The ships to be decommissioned are four littoral combat ships (LCS 1-4), three coastal patrol ships (PC) and one dock landing ship (LSD). The Military Sealift Command will remove from service one fleet ocean tug (T-ATF). As planned in the Navy’s FY-21 budget proposal include Freedom-class LCS - USS Freedom and USS Fort Worth - and Independence-class LCS - USS Independence and USS Coronado. Three of these ships have made major deployments to the western Pacific. The four LCSs are based in San Diego and will be placed in reserve status. The three Cyclone-class PCs to be decommissioned are all based in Mayport, Fla., and used to train crews for the 10 PCs based in the Persian Gulf. The PCs being decommissioned - USS Zephyr, USS Shamal and USS Tornado - will be scrapped. The LSD being decommissioned is USS Fort McHenry, which will be placed in reserve. The move will leave seven ships of the class still in service. The Powhatan-class T-ATF being removed from service is USS Sioux, which will be scrapped. Its removal will leave two T-ATFs in service. The class is being replaced by the Navajo-class towing, salvage and rescue ships. All eight commissioned ships listed are to be decommissioned by March 31, 2021. The Sioux is to be removed from service by Sept. 30, 2021. (Seapower Magazine 07/06/20) https://seapowermagazine.org/navy-to-inactivate-9-shipsin-2021/ Gulf Coast Note: The two Independence LCS were built by  Austal USA of Mobile, Ala.