Overview
- USNS Solomon Atkinson, christened Saturday at Austal USA in Mobile, Alabama, was officially named by the widow and two daughters of its namesake.
- The Navajo-class T-ATS design merges towing, salvage, and rescue roles into one platform with about 6,000 square feet of deck space for modular systems.
- This ship is the second of three T-ATS vessels under construction at Austal’s Mobile yard and will undergo fitting-out and trials before joining the fleet.
- The namesake, Chief Warrant Officer 4 Solomon Atkinson, was an original Navy SEAL who served in Korea and Vietnam and helped train Apollo and Gemini astronauts.
- Navy, shipbuilder, and Metlakatla community leaders joined the ceremony, reflecting both capability upgrades and recognition of Atkinson’s Alaska Native roots.