NASSCO gains two more T-AKE dry cargo ship contracts

NASSCO gains two more T-AKE dry cargo ship contracts    The U.S. Navy has exercised an option to build two additional ships at the National Steel and Shipbuilding Co. (NASSCO) shipyard under the T-AKE program, a new class of combat logistics force ships.
   The $586 million contract brings the total number of ships awarded to NASCCO to eight, and the total contract value to $2.5 billion. The T-AKE contract includes options for another four ships.
   Exercise of this option expands NASSCO’s backlog of ships, the largest in the company’s history. In addition to the eight T-AKE ships, the San Diego, Calif.-based shipbuilder is constructing three double-hull oil tankers for BP Shipping Co. of Alaska.
   Construction of the first T-AKE, the “USNS Lewis and Clark,” began in September 2003. Delivery of the vessel is scheduled for 2005. The second T-AKE, to be named the “USNS Sacagawea,” is now under construction and set for delivery in 2006.
   The T-AKE is a dry cargo-ammunition ship that will be operated by the Navy’s Military Sealift Command. The ships will transfer cargo — ammunition, food, fuel, repair parts, and expendable supplies and material — to station ships and other naval forces at sea. The ships will each carry about 7,000 metric tons of dry cargo and ammunition and 23,500 barrels of marine diesel fuel.