Keel laid for Egyptian ship

PASCAGOULA, Miss. - A keel laying ceremony was held Wednesday at VT Halter Marine to mark construction of an Egyptian ship. The state of the art missile ship will be 200 feet long and is designed to perform coastal patrol, surveillance, interdiction, surface strike and naval battle group support. VT Halter will build four of the ships for Egypt for $807 million. The first vessel is scheduled to be finished by mid 2012, and the fourth should be done by year-end of 2013. (Sources: Mississippi Press, WLOX-TV, 04/08/10)