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92Maritime Reporter & Engineering News VESSELSLHA-6 Christened at IngallsHuntington Ingalls Industries' Ingalls Shipbuilding di- vision christened the multi-purpose amphibious assaultship America (LHA 6). The ship, the first in a new class, is the fourth U.S. Navy vessel to be named America, ex- tending a legacy dating back to 1861. Lynne Pace, wife of retired U.S. Marine Corps Gen. Peter Pace, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, served as the ship's sponsor. Ingalls has built 13 amphibious assault ships: five in the Tarawa (LHA 1) class and eight in the Wasp (LHD 1) class. HII received a $2.38 billion contract in May to build Tripoli (LHA 7), the next ship in the America class."No other shipyard in the United States can boast the amount of experience that Ingalls has in the production of these critically important ships," said Ingalls Ship- building President Irwin F. Edenzon. America-class ships are 844 x 106 ft. and displace44,971 long tons. The gas turbine propulsion system will drive the ships in excess of 20 knots. They will accom- modate 1,059 crew (65 officers) and 1,687 troops. The America-class will be capable of carrying a Marine Ex-peditionary Unit, including Marine helicopters, MV22Osprey tiltrotor aircraft and F 35B Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) aircraft.The newest class has an increased aviation capacity to include an enlarged hangar deck, realignment and expan- sion of the aviation maintenance facilities, a significant increase in available stowage for parts and support equip- ment, and increased aviation fuel capacity. Terasea Accepts First ?Raptor Class?AHTSingapore-based Terasea said the vessel Terasea Fal- con ? one of its first set of ?Raptor Class? 200T BP AHT?s ? was launched at Universal Shipbuilding?s Keihin yard on October 18, 2012. Terasea Falcon will be delivered at the end of February 2013. Three addi- tional sister vessels (Terasea Hawk, Eagle, and Os- prey) are to be delivered approximately every three months after the Falcon. Terasea intends to use these specialized long dis- tance towing and anchor handling tugs to be the mar- ket?s leading contractor for long distance towage and positioning services. Terasea?s focus will be on pro- viding the highest level of service to our FPSO, FSO, FLNG, Rig, Salvage and general towage customers' requirements while maintaining a strict adherence tobest practices for HSEQ.The Raptor Class vessels are 16,300 bhp, ABS Class, 200T BP, FIFI 1, DP1 ready, and completely compliant with current and expected SOLAS and IMO regulations including ballast water treatment & MLC 2006. Terasea, headquartered in Singapore, will have commercial and operational support centers in Europe and North America. MR#11 (90-97) R:MR Template 11/5/2012 9:49 AM Page 92