PASCAGOULA, Miss., July 21 (UPI) -- The Fourth Legend-class National Security Cutter for the U.S. Coast Guard by Huntington Ingalls Industries has successfully completed builder's sea trials.
HII said the Hamilton underwent three days of tests of all ship systems, including propulsion, electrical, damage control, anchor handling, small boat operations and combat systems.
"It's a team effort to bring one of these magnificent ships to life, and the NSC team has performed superbly -- from the first cut of steel to the completion of a very successful builder's trials," said Jim French, Ingalls' NSC program manager.
"The NSC team continues to improve performance from ship to ship. By keeping the same management team and many of the craftsmen building each NSC, we have been able to incorporate hundreds of lessons learned, resulting in a significant learning curve improvement since the first NSC."
Legend-class National Security Cutters are 418 feet long, 54 feet in the beam, and displace 4,600 tons. They have a speed of more than 28 knots and a range of 12,000 nautical miles.
Ingalls has delivered the first three NSCs to the Coast Guard and three more are currently under construction.
