Ingalls Shipbuilding delivers sixth National Security Cutter

Capt. Thomas King (center), prospective commanding officer of Coast Guard Cutter Munro, receives the key to the ship from Derek Murphy, Huntington Ingalls Industries' national security cutter (NSC) program manager, following the ship's delivery Dec. 16, 2016. Capt. Christopher Webb (left) oversaw the delivery of the sixth NSC as commanding officer of Project Resident Office Gulf Coast

DECEMBER 18, 2016 — The Coast Guard accepted delivery of the sixth National Security Cutter, Munro (WMSL 755), Friday in a ceremony at Huntington Ingalls Industries’ (NYSE:HII) Ingalls Shipbuilding division, Pacagoula, MS.

Munro is scheduled to sail away from the shipyard in February and will be commissioned in Seattle on April 1, 2017. She will be the fourth NSC stationed in Alameda, CA.

“Three years ago, this ship consisted of nothing more than steel plates, raw pipe and bundled wire,” said Derek Murphy, Ingalls’ NSC 6 program manager. “Since then, we’ve seen an amazing transformation, made possible by the thousands of people who poured their heart and soul into this ship. We have a mission statement in the NSC program that says during the construction of each NSC we will provide the men and women of the United States Coast Guard with the finest ship in their fleet. This excellence will be provided by our shipbuilders through working safely, attention to detail and ownership of work.”

“This is a remarkable achievement in my career and the career of the personnel serving on Munro,” said Thomas King, commanding officer of Munro. “National Security Cutters are a great benefit to the Coast Guard because they have the capabilities to fulfill missions while acting independently offshore.”

The cutter’s namesake, Signalman First Class Douglas A. Munro, died Sept. 27, 1942, at Guadalcanal after he volunteered to evacuate a detachment of Marines facing annihilation by an unanticipated enemy force. Munro successfully extricated most of the Marines and then maneuvered himself and his boats in a position to cover the last group of men evacuating from the beach. This action exposed him to greater enemy fire, causing him to suffer a mortal wound. He was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart and is the only Coast Guardsman to be awarded thel Medal of Honor.

The 418-foot cutters provide open-ocean patrol capabilities for complex law enforcement, defense and national security missions. They have endurance for 60- to 90-day patrol cycles and a range of 12,000 nautical miles, and they can operate in the most demanding maritime environments.

Replacing the 1960s-era 378-foot high endurance cutters, the NSCs feature enhanced seakeeping, improved habitability and advanced command, control, communication, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance equipment.

Munro is the sixth Legend-class National Security Cutter Ingalls has built for the Coast Guard. Ingalls currently has two more NSCs under construction: Kimball (WMSL 756) and Midgett (WMSL 757). These ships are scheduled to be delivered in 2018 and 2019, respectively.
Capt. Thomas King (center), prospective commanding officer of Coast Guard Cutter Munro, receives the key to the ship from Derek Murphy, Huntington Ingalls Industries’ national security cutter (NSC) program manager, following the ship’s delivery Dec. 16, 2016. Capt. Christopher Webb (left) oversaw the delivery of the sixth NSC as commanding officer of Project Resident Office Gulf Coast

Huntington Ingalls Industries.