T-EPF 11 christening in Alabama

The Navy will christen its newest Expeditionary Fast Transport, the future USNS Puerto Rico (T-EPF 11), during a 10 a.m. CST ceremony Nov. 10 at the Austal USA shipyard in Mobile, Ala. The principal speaker is U.S. Rep. Jenniffer González-Colón, resident commissioner of Puerto Rico. Supreme Court Associate Justice Sonia Soto-Mayor will serve as the ship’s sponsor, and will christen the ship by breaking a bottle of sparkling wine across the bow. EPF class ships are designed to transport 600 short-tons of military cargo for up to 1,200 nautical miles at an average speed of 35 knots. The ship is capable of operating in shallow-draft ports and waterways, interfacing with roll-on/roll-off discharge facilities, and on/off-loading of combat-loaded Abrams main battle tank (M1A2). It also has a flight deck for helicopter operations, and an off-load ramp to allow vehicles to quickly drive off the ship. The EPF program delivered its ninth ship late last year, USNS City of Bismarck (T-EPF 9). Delivery of USNS Burlington (EPF 10) is planned for mid-November. Puerto Rico (EPF 11) and Newport (EPF 12) are currently under construction at Austal's shipyard. (Source: Defense Department 11/08/18)