WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 23rd May, 2023) General Dynamics National Steel and Shipbuilding has won a more than $736 million US Navy contract to build a new oil carrier of the T-AO class, the Defense Department said in a press release.
"General Dynamics National Steel and Shipbuilding Company (of) San Diego, California is awarded a $736,160,588 modification ...contract to exercise the option for the. ...design and construction of T-AO 213," the release said on Monday.
More than half of the work on the contract will be performed in San Diego, California (58%) and the rest at other locations, the release said. Work on the ship is expected to take just under five years and to be completed by March 2028, the release said.
The US Navy currently operates 15 fleet replenishment oilers through Military Sealift Command to provide underway replenishment of fuel to ships at sea and jet fuel for aircraft assigned to aircraft carriers. T-AO class oilers can carry 162,000 tonnes of fuel at speeds of up to 20 knots per hour.
