Austal christens JHSV 5

Ship's sponsor Virginia A. Kamsky performed the traditional bottle break

JANUARY 12, 2015 — Austal christened USNS Trenton (JHSV 5) Saturday at its Mobile, AL, shipyard.

USNS Trenton is the fifth of ten Joint High Speed Vessels (JHSV) that Austal is building for the U.S. Navy as part of an overall 10-ship block-buy contract worth over $1.6 billion.

The 338-foot catamaran vessel is named Trenton after the capital of the state of New Jersey and the site of George Washington’s first military victory during the American Revolutionary War.

Over 300 naval and shipyard guests attended the ceremony, which was held alongside the USNS Trenton at Austal USA’s Vessel Completion Yard (VCY).

The Honorable Ray Mabus, Secretary of the Navy, was the principal speaker.

The traditional bottle break was performed by the ship’s sponsor, Ms. Virginia A. Kamsky, Chairman and CEO of Kamsky Associates, Inc. (KAI), a strategic advisory firm with offices in Beijing and New York City. She is serving under a White House appointment as a member of the U.S. Secretary of the Navy Advisory Panel (SNAP), an advisory body that provides the Secretary of the Navy with independent advice and recommendations on critical issues.

Ms. Kamsky is a recipient of the Navy Distinguished Civilian Service Award, which is the highest honorary award the Secretary of the Navy can confer on a Department of the Navy civilian employee.

“Trenton is a true testament to the successful partnership that has developed between Austal USA, the Military Sealift Command, and the Navy. We’re very happy with how well this program has matured as we prepare our fifth JHSV for trials and delivery in the coming months,” said Austal USA President Craig Perciavalle. “The success of the program is the direct result of the hard work and dedication of so many incredible shipbuilding professionals here at Austal – the best I’ve ever worked with.”

“We’re so thankful for the support the JHSV program has received, as evidenced by the addition of JHSV 11 in the recently passed appropriations bill, and we’re excited about the program’s future,” he said.

Three JHSVs and six Littoral Combat Ships (LCS) are currently under construction in Austal’s Mobile, Alabama shipyard. Austal will launch one ship and send JHSV 5, out on Builder’s Sea Trials in the Gulf before the end of January.

For the LCS and JHSV programs, Austal, as prime contractor, is teamed with General Dynamics Mission Systems, a business unit of General Dynamics. For the JHSV program, General Dynamics is responsible for the design, integration and testing of the navigation and communication systems, C4I and aviation systems.