The U.S. Navy’s second of three Mobile Landing Platform (MLP) vessels, USNS John Glenn (MLP-2) was christened on Saturday morning, February 1st at General Dynamics’ NASSCO arm in Sand Diego. The godmother of the ship, Lyn Glenn, daughter of the legendary U.S. astronaut John Glenn, in whose honor the ship was named, christened the ship by breaking the traditional bottle of champagne against the vessel’s hull. The key-note speaker at the ceremony was Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Jonathan W. Greenert.
“With pride we christen the USNS John Glenn. May this ship serve our country well and be strengthened with the legacy of our distinguished guest, the Honorable John Glenn,” said Fred Harris, president of General Dynamics NASSCO.
The MLP 2 is slated for delivery in the first quarter of 2014 and it is expected to lower dependency on foreign ports and provide support in the absence of any port.
The MLP vessels are envisaged to provide a “pier at sea” that will become the core of the Navy/Marine Corps sea basing concept. This capability will allow prepositioning ships to offload equipment and supplies to the MLP for transshipment to shore by other vessels.
The construction of USNS John Glenn was launched in April 2012 and the vessel completed Builder’s Sea Trials on January 13, passing all tests with flying colors.
[mappress] Naval Today Staff, February 3, 2014; Image: US Navy