Jane Edwards
Huntington Ingalls Industries’ Ingalls Shipbuilding division and the U.S. Coast Guard held a keel authentication ceremony for the service branch’s seventh Legend-class National Security Cutter at the company’s shipyard in Pascagoula, Mississippi, Friday.
Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Paul Zukunft served as the keynote speaker during the ceremony for the NSC Kimball (WMSL 756), HII said Friday.
The 418-foot-long vessel is named after Sumner Kimball, who helped establish the U.S. Life Saving Service.
Kay Webber Cochran, wife of Sen. Thad Cochran (R-Miss.), etched her initials onto the keel’s steel plate as the ship’s sponsor during the event.
Ingalls Shipbuilding President Brian Cuccias and Sen. Cochran were also in attendance.
Legend-class NSCs are built to replace Hamilton-class cutters for use in maritime security missions and are designed to sail at a speed of up to 28 knots.
