US Navy announces new cargo ship will be named for city of Lansing

LANSING — For the first time in naval history, a U.S. ship will will bear the name USS Lansing, officials announced Monday morning on the steps of the Michigan Capitol.

U.S. Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro joined Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Major Andy Schor and other dignitaries Monday to announce that the EPF-16, an Expeditionary Fast Transport ship, will bear the city's name.

Expeditionary fast transports are shallow draft, all-aluminum, commercial-based catamarans capable of short-distance personnel and cargo lift, the Navy said in a press release.

The vessels "provide commanders high-speed mobility, bridging the gap between low-speed sealift and high-speed airlift."

The ships transport personnel, equipment and supplies and can offload in austere, minor and degraded ports in support of the global war on terrorism/Theater Security Cooperation Program, intra-theater operational/littoral maneuver and sustainment and seabasing, the Navy said.

Ships such as the Lansing will enable the "rapid projection, agile maneuver and sustainment of modular, tailored forces in response to a wide range of military and civilian contingencies," the Navy said.

Whitmer is a sponsor of the ship, as well as an official honorary crewmember, her office said in a release. The ship is currently being built and is in the first steps in the commissioning process.

The EPF class ships are designed to transport 600 short tons of military cargo 1,200 nautical miles at an average speed of 35 knots. They have a crew of 26 with airline style seating for 312 troops and fixed berthing for an additional 104.

In 2008, the Navy contracted with Austal USA, Mobile, Alabama, to build the first ship in the class. Since then, it has delivered 10 ships, with four under construction and two more planned, including the Lansing.

This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: New Navy ship to bear name of City of Lansing