U.S. Navy officials report that the eighth and final Wasp Class amphibious carrier, USS Makin Island (LHD 8), arrived at her homeport of San Diego Sept. 14 after spending nearly two months at sea.
LHD 8 is the first U.S. Navy amphibious assault ship to replace steam boilers with gas turbines, and the first Navy surface ship to be equipped with both gas turbines and an Auxiliary Propulsion System (APS).
By using this unique propulsion system in conjunction with operational awareness of the crew, the ship saved approximately $2 million in fuel costs during transit compared to a ship using steam boilers.
Instead of using gas turbines which are less efficient at lower speeds, the ship will be able to use APS for roughly 75 percent of the time the ship is underway. Over the course of Makin Island's lifecycle, the Navy expects to see a savings of more than $250 million. Because the gas turbines will be used infrequently, the Navy expects to also save on maintenance and lifecycle costs.
Makin Island left the Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding (NGSB) yard in Pascagoula, Miss., July 10 on her maiden voyage, manned for the first time by the ship's crew. The ship sailed through the Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean Sea, Strait of Magellan, and both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans during its transit around South America.
Formal commissioning of USS Makin Island is planned for October 24. Once commissioned, the ship and crew will begin a series of post-delivery tests and trials to thoroughly evaluate the ship's systems and to complete certifications in advance of operational deployment.
Second only to aircraft carriers in size, LHDs are the largest amphibious warships in the world. This powerful class is 844 feet long, can reach speeds of more than 20 knots, and has a displacement of more than 41,000 tons. Wasp-class amphibious assault ships are designed to remain off shore near troubled areas of the world, ready to send forces ashore quickly by helicopters, tilt rotor aircraft and Landing Craft Air Cushion (LCAC) hovercraft.
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