Austal USA has held a christening ceremony for the future USNS Solomon Atkinson (T-ATS 12) at its Mobile, Alabama shipyard on 2 May 2026.
The vessel bears the name of chief warrant officer 4 Solomon Atkinson, an early Navy SEAL, original member of the SEAL teams, and decorated Alaska Native sailor from the Metlakatla Indian Community.
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The event brought together key officials and members of the Atkinson family to mark the ship’s official naming.
Joann Atkinson, the wife of the late Solomon Atkinson, along with her daughters Michele Gunyah and Maria Hayward, carried out the bottle-breaking ritual to formally name the ship.
Austal USA interim president Gene Miller said: “This christening marks an important milestone for T-ATS 12 and the dedicated workforce who brought this ship to life. It is an honour to take part in this ceremony alongside the Atkinson family as we recognize Solomon Atkinson’s legacy of service. We are proud to support the Navy with a platform that will serve critical missions around the world and look forward to delivering this ship to the fleet.”
The future USNS Solomon Atkinson is the second of three Navajo-class towing, salvage and rescue ships (T-ATS) ships under construction at Austal USA and is the second vessel of its class to launch from the Mobile facility.
The Navajo-class is designed for multiple missions, including towing, salvage, rescue, humanitarian assistance, oil spill response, and search and surveillance operations.
With approximately 6,000ft2 of deck space, the vessels will be supporting various systems and configurations.
The T-ATS platform replaces two outgoing ship types, the Rescue and Salvage Ship (T-ARS 50) and Fleet Ocean Tug (T-ATF 166), with its common hull platform and modular payload options.
When delivered, the USNS Solomon Atkinson will join the fleet to provide logistical and operational support across various US Navy missions.
