The US Naval Sea Systems Command has awarded General Dynamics National Steel and Shipbuilding Co. (NASSCO) – Norfolk Ship Repair, Norfolk, Virginia, a $83 million contract for the USS Mesa Verde (LPD 19) fiscal 2018 docking phased maintenance availability.
This availability will include a combination of maintenance, modernization, and repair of the third San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock.
The maintenance will take place in Norfolk, Virginia, and is expected to be completed by May 2019. This contract also includes options which, if exercised, would bring its overall value to $98 million.
LPD 19 is the third amphibious transport dock of the San Antonio class and the first ship in the Navy named in honor of the Mesa Verde National Park in southwestern Colorado. The ship was christened in January 2005 and commissioned in 2007.
The 208.5-meter ships are used to embark and land marines, their equipment and supplies ashore via air cushion or conventional landing craft and amphibious assault vehicles, augmented by helicopters or vertical takeoff and landing aircraft such as the MV-22 Osprey.