US Navy christens towing, salvage and rescue ship USNS Solomon Atkinson

May 4, 2026, by Fatima Bahtić

Austal USA has christened the future USNS Solomon Atkinson (T-ATS 12) at its Mobile, Alabama, shipyard, marking a significant milestone in the construction of the US Navy’s newest towing, salvage, and rescue ship.

The ship is named in honor of Chief Warrant Officer 4 Solomon Atkinson, a pioneering Navy SEAL, plankowner of the SEAL teams, and one of the service’s most decorated Alaska Native sailors from the Metlakatla Indian Community.

The ship’s sponsor, Joann Atkinson, widow of Solomon Atkinson, and their daughters Michele Gunyah and Maria Hayward, performed the time-honored christening tradition by breaking a ceremonial bottle across the bow, formally naming the vessel.

“This christening marks an important milestone for T-ATS 12 and the dedicated workforce who brought this ship to life,” said Gene Miller, interim president of Austal USA.

“It is an honor to take part in this ceremony alongside the Atkinson family as we recognize Solomon Atkinson’s legacy of service. We are proud to support the Navy with a platform that will serve critical missions around the world and look forward to delivering this ship to the fleet.”

USNS Solomon Atkinson is the second of three T-ATS vessels under construction at Austal USA and the second in its class to be launched from the company’s shipyard in Mobile. The construction started in April last year.

Austal starts construction of T-ATS USNS Solomon Atkinson

Vessels

The Navajo-class Towing, Salvage, and Rescue Ships are built to carry out ocean-going towing, salvage, and rescue operations in support of fleet requirements. Each vessel can tow US Navy ships and includes roughly 6,000 square feet of deck space to accommodate a variety of mission systems.

The design brings together functions previously performed by the rescue and salvage ship (T-ARS 50) and fleet ocean tug (T-ATF 166) classes. It also allows for future upgrades through modular payloads and adaptable onboard systems. T-ATS ships are intended to support tasks such as towing, salvage, rescue operations, oil spill response, humanitarian assistance, and broad-area search and surveillance.