Navajo-class rescue and salvage ship

The Navajo class is a class of Towing, Salvage and Rescue Ships for the Military Sealift Command of the United States Navy. They were ordered in 2017 as the planned replacement for the aging Safeguard-class rescue and salvage ships and Powhatan-class tugboats. A total of ten ships of the class have been planned and none have been put in service yet.

Graphic representation of a Navajo-class towing, salvage and rescue ship
Class overview
Name	Navajo class
Builders	Gulf Island Fabrication
Operators	United States Navy
Preceded by	Safeguard class (ARS) Powhatan class (ATF)
Cost	US$129.9 million
Planned	10
On order	10
Building	6
Completed	2
Active	1
General characteristics
Type	Towing, Salvage and Rescue Ship
Displacement	5,110 long tons (5,190 t)
Length	263 ft (80 m)
Beam	59 ft (18 m)
Draft	17.7 ft (5.4 m)
Depth	24.6 ft (7.5 m)
Propulsion	Diesel: 2 Wärtsilä 8L32 at 6,308 hp (4,704 kW) each
Speed	15.1 knots (28.0 km/h; 17.4 mph)
Range	8,170 nmi (15,130 km; 9,400 mi)
Complement	65 Total, 23 Crew, 42 Guest

Development

Eight ships of the class were planned to replace the aging Safeguard-class rescue and salvage ships and Powhatan-class tugboats. They were ordered in 2017 and on 16 March 2018 Gulf Island Fabrication was chosen to construct them. On 26 March 2020, an additional two ships were ordered by the navy. On 19 April 2021, Gulf Island announced that they had sold the contract along with the shipyard to Bollinger Shipyards.^[1][2][3][4]

Ships in class

Navajo-class construction data

Name	Namesake	Hull number	Builder	Laid down	Launched	Status	References
Navajo	Navajo Nation	T-ATS-6	Bollinger Shipyards	30 October 2019	24 May 2023	Completed	[5][6][7][8]
Cherokee Nation	Cherokee Nation	T-ATS-7		12 February 2020	June 2024	Completed	[9][10]
Saginaw Ojibwe Anishinabek	Saginaw Chippewa Tribe	T-ATS-8		3 October 2022[11]		Under construction	[12]
Lenni Lenape	Lenape Nation	T-ATS-9		August 2022		Under construction	[13][14]
Muscogee Creek Nation	Muscogee Nation	T-ATS-10		20 March 2024		Under construction	[5][15][16]
Billy Frank Jr.	Billy Frank Jr.	T-ATS-11	Austal USA[17]	14 November 2023		Under construction	[18][19]
Solomon Atkinson	Solomon Atkinson	T-ATS-12		16 April 2025		Under construction	[19]
James D. Fairbanks	James D. Fairbanks	T-ATS-13				Under construction	[20][21]
Narragansett	Narragansett people	T-ATS-14				Ordered	[22][23]
Unnamed		T-ATS-15				Ordered	[22]