“Designing the New National Security Multi-Mission Vessel” for State Maritime Academies

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MarineLink reports MARAD is planning a new class of ships to serve as training ships for the five State Maritime Academies (SMA). Additionally these ships are expected to be available to respond to Natural Disasters. The new design is being referred to as the National Security Multi-Mission Vessel (NSMV).

NSMMV Humanitarian Assistance Disaster Response facilities will be concentrated at the sternHerbert Engineering Corp (HEC) prepared a conceptual level design for the NSMV.

DESIGN PARTICULARS
Length o.a.: 159.85 m (524.5 ft.)
Beam: 27 m (88.6 ft.)
Draft: 6.5 m (21.4 ft.)
Design service speed: 8 knots/15% sea margin
Cruising Speed: 12 knots
Propulsion: Diesel Electric
Propulsion engines: 4 x Diesel Generators
Total installed Power: 15,680 kW
Propellers: 1 propeller, fixed pitch
Rudders: 1 flap type rudder on centerline
Fuel: Single fuel – marine gas oil (MGO), max Sulfur content 0.1%
Bow Thruster: retractable combi type – tunnel thruster in up position, azimuthing thruster in down position, “Take Home” source of power, 1450 kW
Stern Thruster: Tunnel type, 890 kW
Fuel Consumption: 60 tons/day @ 18 knots,  26 tons/day at 12 knots
Fresh Water (including sanitary water): 35 gal/day per person for 700 = 93 tons + 5 tons Ship Service FW = 98 tons/day
Fuel range: About 11,000 nm range @ 18 knots design speed with 10% remaining fuel
Food & Stores: 60 days food storage for 700 persons, 297 sq. m. (3,200 sq. ft.) reefer provisions,  240 sq. m. (2,580 sq. ft.) dry provisions
Propulsion motors: 2 x 4,500 kW propulsion motors. Motors in separate watertight compartments.
Electric Power: 6,600 V main power generation, 440 V ship service electric power, 120 V lighting and accommodations
RoRo deck: RoRo space aft with length of about 40 m (130 ft), width inside framing of 24 m (80 ft), clear height of at least 4.7 m (15.3 ft). Usable deck area is about 1,000 sq. m. (10,700 sq. ft.). Suitable for about 10 x 40 ft trailers with 26 autos or about 49 autos/light trucks.
Total container capacity: about 64 TEU for two high.
Crane: 1 x Jib Boom type with 35 MT SWL x 24 m outreach
RoRo ramp: 20 ft. wide watertight wide side ramp with 40 ton capacity

(Image: Herbert Engineering / MARAD)

50 thoughts on ““Designing the New National Security Multi-Mission Vessel” for State Maritime Academies”

  1. I wonder, if the USCG or the military sealift command can get two of these and they can be put them both on each coast of the US. It would be an Ideal ship where the military sealift command with a CIVMAR core crew and can surge in times of Disaster with a Combined, USN/USMC/USCG/USPHS/FEMA/DMAT/USAR teams

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      • These ships will NOT be funded by the Navy either SCN or NDSF. They money will have to come from DOT.

      • BTW the whole purpose of such a combo ship is to have MARAD mariners teach the students. And MSC is not responsible for crewing MARAD ships.

        IOW surge capacity comes from MARAD not from MSC

    • The point is that the Coast Guard does not need anything like this, if they are readily available from the Maritime Academies. The East Coast is pretty well provided for with Maine, Mass., New York, and Texas all having state maritime academies.

      On the west coast only California Maritime will be getting on of these, although there apparently is a maritime training program in Seattle for able seaman and engineering ratings. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seattle_Central_College#Vocational_training

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    • I also wonder what’s the reasoning behind the propulsion configuration: diesel-electric powertrain, two propulsion motors, single shaft, fixed pitch propeller and single rudder. I’d expect a vessel like this to have twin shafts and twin rudders, and perhaps a mechanical powertrain with controllable pitch propellers.

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      • Nicky a T-ake is too big for some of the Academies’ facilities, and drafta too deeply for their HA/DR requirements. The cost would also be an issue.

      • Nickie, while it might have been possible to adapt the T-AKE for at least some of the Academies this is not a Navy program. It is funded by MARAD, part of the Transportation Dept., not DOD.

      • Chuck, I was comparing the proposed design to modern ro-pax ferries which, with very few exceptions, have four main engines, two shafts and controllable pitch propellers. Many of them are also about the same size as the proposed ship and have roughly the same general layout:

        However, if the designers used a parent hull, then the relatively uncommon choice is more understandable.

      • I was looking at maybe using the T-AKE mainly because that’s where most of the Maritime academy grads work on and it would be great for some maritime academies, such as Maine, Mass, SUNY Maritime and Cal Maritime.

  10. Another article on the Philly Shipyard selection.
    https://www.defensenews.com/naval/2020/04/14/philadelphia-shipyard-tapped-to-build-new-merchant-marine-training-ships/

    Couple on interesting notes is that this represents a lifeline to the yard, and some discussion of this as an alternative to the Navy CHAMP platform. Navy could in theory modify and build four of these for the reported cost for a single CHAMP platform. The hospital ship replacement is of particular interest right now. One of the repeated complaints about the current hospital ships is they are far to big, and to some degree too few of them. That is apparent again with their deployments to NY and LA. It would thus seem more effective to go to a pair of smaller crisis response ships on each coast.

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    • These ships are to some extent already designed to respond to National emergencies with medical facilities and berthing for emergency workers in addition to the crewmembers.

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