Building of new Coast Guard cutter officially begins

PASCAGOULA, Miss., Jan. 21 (UPI) -- Fabrication of the seventh U.S. Coast Guard National Security Cutter officially began this week.

Huntington Ingalls Industries said the steel was cut at its Ingalls Shipbuilding division facility in Mississippi and that the build of the Kimball (WMSL 756) is expected to take three years to complete.

"We continue to increase our learning on this shipbuilding program, fully capturing the affordable benefits of serial production," said Ingalls' NSC Program Manager Jim French.

"While the official start fab requires 100 tons of steel to be cut for this ship, our shipbuilders have actually cut more than 474 tons so far on NSC 7. This paves the way for a successful three-year build on this ship."

Legend-class National Security Cutters are 418 feet long, with a 54-foot beam and displace 4,500 tons with a full load. Their top speed is 28 knots and they have a range of 12,000 miles.

The ships feature an aft launch and recovery area for two rigid hull inflatable boats and a flight deck for helicopters.

The cutters are replacing Hamilton-class cutters.