SE Connecticut News

WASHINGTON, D.C. – On June 26, Congressman Joe Courtney (CT-02) issued the following statement after the Philadelphia Shipyard christened the EMPIRE STATE—the first of five National Security Multi-Mission Vessels (NSMVs) authorized by the House Seapower and Projection Forces Subcommittee in 2016, led by Ranking Member Courtney.

“Today’s christening of the EMPIRE STATE is a powerful statement about the impact of a strong domestic shipbuilding policy and the potential for our nations hard working shipbuilders to rise to the challenges we face today.

“At a time when many are rightly focused on the need to restore domestic manufacturing and shipbuilding, the National Multi-Mission Vessel program is an example of where Congress, specifically the House Seapower and Projection Forces Subcommittee, has successfully acted to do something to meet our nation’s shipbuilding demands.  As a result, the Maritime Administration and the Philly Shipyard will deliver five US-built ships that are largely on time and on budget. This is a dramatic change in pace as, just a few short years ago, prior to Congressional action, the Philly shipyard had only a small number of employees and a nearly empty shipyard. Now, we have a proven contracting model and architecture to not only train mariners but boost our sealift program without relying on the vagaries of the foreign market. 

"To capitalize on this success, I authored amendments in the Committee-passed annual defense bill to replicate the architecture at Philly shipyard for our entire U.S. sealift program. I look forward to seeing these provisions passed in the House in the coming weeks.”

Background

The new NSMV ships are critical to recapitalizing America's domestic sealift and maritime response capabilities. 

In 2016, Rep. Courtney and the House Seapower Subcommittee provided the first-ever authorization for MARAD to construct new NSMV ships, and in 2020, then-Chairman Courtney's provision to reject a 30 percent cut to the NSMV program was included in the final FY 2021 NDAA. In January of 2021, Courtney announced that MARAD has decided to utilize that funding, as well as his 2016 authorization, to add construction of two additional NSMV ships into their shipbuilding plans. The four new NSMV ships will replace aging vessels in Maine, Massachusetts, New York, and Texas. 

In July of 2021, then-Chairman Courtney joined Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon (PA-05) to help lead a bipartisan delegation of U.S. Representatives on a visit to Philly Shipyard, Inc., to meet with shipbuilders and engineers, and to survey the shipyard's readiness to take on the new work. "Without the work being performed right now at this historic shipyard, our nation would soon be facing a dangerous shortage of qualified mariners to crew commercial and government-owned sealift ships during crises," Courtney said at the time. "For the city of Philadelphia, the NSMV program—which is funded by the U.S. Maritime Administration—means good, high-paying jobs, which the shipbuilding sector provides."

Original source can be found here.