SAN DIEGO, Jan. 21 (UPI) -- The U.S. Navy's second mobile landing platform vessel, the USNS John Glenn, has successfully completed week-long builder's sea trials.
General Dynamics National Steel and Shipbuilding Co. demonstrated all the ship's major systems during the trials, which precede ship acceptance trials and delivery to the Navy later this year.
"John Glenn performed extremely well, a testament to the thorough preparation by NASSCO, the Navy MLP program office, and our Supervisors of Shipbuilding," said Navy Capt. Henry Stevens, strategic and theater sealift program manager, Program Executive Office, Ships. "This ship is well on its way to acceptance trials and delivery later this year."
The Mobile Landing Platform class of ships use the commercially designed Alaska-class crude oil carrier as their base. They are 837 feet long and 164 feet in the beam. They have a maximum speed of 15 knots, a range of 9,500 nautical miles, tankage for 100,000 gallons of potable water and can hold 380,000 gallons of JP-5 jet fuel.
They are to operate as floating bases for amphibious operations and as a transfer point between large ships and small landing craft.
