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Immediate Release

Navy to Christen Expeditionary Fast Transport Carson City

The Navy will christen its newest expeditionary fast transport, USS Carson City (EPF 7), during a 10 a.m. EST ceremony Saturday, Jan. 16 in Mobile, Alabama.

Carson City, designated EPF 7, honors the city of Carson City, Nevada.

Vice Adm. Joseph P. Mulloy, deputy chief of Naval Operations, Integration of Capabilities and Resources, will serve as principal speaker. Susan Asbury Crowell, wife of the Honorable Robert Crowell, Mayor of Carson City, Nevada, will serve as the ship’s sponsor. In a time-honored Navy tradition, she will give the order to “man our ship and bring her to life!”

"The christening of the future USNS Carson City marks the beginning of what will be a long-standing partnership between the people of Carson City, the sailors, Marines and civilian mariners who will sail aboard this ship, and the shipbuilders who, through their hard work and skill, have brought this vessel to life," said The Honorable Ray Mabus, secretary of the Navy.  "This ship will provide a presence around the globe for years to come, serving as a tangible representation of the ideas and values the people of Carson City and our nation hold dear."

EPF 7 will be the second U.S. Navy ship named for the city in Nevada. The first Carson City was designated PF-50 and commissioned March 24, 1944.  She was loaned to Japan in 1953 and served for nearly 20 years in the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force.  Carson City received two battle stars for World War II service.

The EPF is a shallow draft, all aluminum, commercial-based catamaran capable of intra-theater personnel and cargo lift providing combatant commanders high-speed sealift mobility with inherent cargo handling capability and agility to achieve positional advantage over operational distances. 

EPF is designed to transport 600 short tons of military cargo 1,200 nautical miles at an average speed of 35 knots in sea state 3. The ship is capable of operating in shallow-draft ports and waterways, interfacing with roll-on/roll-off discharge facilities, and on/off-loading a combat-loaded Abrams Main Battle Tank (M1A2). The EPF will include a flight deck for helicopter operations and an off-load ramp that will allow vehicles to quickly drive off the ship. The ramp will be suitable for the types of austere piers and quay walls common in developing countries. EPF’s shallow draft (under 15 feet) will further enhance littoral operations and port access. This makes the EPF an extremely flexible asset for support of a wide range of operations including maneuver and sustainment, relief operations in small or damaged ports, flexible logistics support, or as the key enabler for rapid transport. 

Media may direct queries to the Navy Office of Information at 703- 697-5342. For more information about the expeditionary fast transport:  http://www.navy.mil/navydata/fact_display.asp?cid=4200&tid=1400&ct=4.