This evening the MIGUEL KEITH continues plowing the ocean while steaming N/S at 7 knots on 10 mile legs back and forth offshore Santa Cruz.
MK was built at the General Dynamics National Steel and Shipbuilding Co.in San Diego. On July 11, 2018, the drydock at the shipyard flooded when a seawater barrier failed, floating MK of its blocks. The unfinished ship flooded through hull cuts made to allow workers and equipment to reach interior spaces. Repairs pushed back Navy acceptance of the ship at least a year. Apparently the Navy will be held financially responsible.
The ESB class (Expeditionary Sea Base) of ships has a displacement of 90,000 tons, and up to 250 crew. The ESB class design is based on an Alaska-class crude oil tanker design. The ESBs include a four-spot flight deck and hangar above a mission deck.
To create the mission deck, the ESB’s designers scooped out the middle section of the ship, leaving a massive open space to support aviation facilities, berthing, equipment staging support, and assets such as unmanned vehicles and small boats.
The ESB class of ships was initially intended to support mine countermeasures and special operations forces through the launch and recovery of small boats and unmanned vehicles. Helicopters can operate off a flight deck above the mission bay area. However, the Marine Corps has since expressed an interest in using the platform for a variety of missions, notably for forward-deployed forces in the Middle East.
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Marines in charge of a Naval ship that nearly sank before it was launched?