The future USNS Solomon Atkinson (T-ATS 12) was christened May 2 at Austal USA's Mobile, Ala., shipyard, marking a milestone in the construction of the U.S. Navy's newest Towing, Salvage, and Rescue Ship.
The ship's sponsor, Joann Atkinson — widow of the vessel's namesake, Chief Warrant Officer 4 Solomon Atkinson — along with the couple's daughters, Michele Gunyah and Maria Hayward, performed the traditional christening by breaking a ceremonial bottle across the bow.
Dignitaries attending the ceremony included Capt. Thomas Cunningham III, USN, chief of staff, Military Sealift Command; Daniel Marsden Sr., acting mayor of the Metlakatla Indian Community; Rear Adm. Walter H. Allman III, USN, commander, Naval Special Warfare; Brendan Rogers, assistant secretary of the Navy for energy, installations, and environment; and Gene Miller, Austal USA interim president.
The ship honors the legacy of CWO4 Solomon Atkinson, a pioneering Navy SEAL, plankowner of the SEAL teams and one of the most decorated Alaska Native sailors in the service's history. Atkinson hailed from the Metlakatla Indian Community. In reflecting on her father's life, Maria Hayward cited a Tsimshian value he embodied: "akadi lip a'algyaga sm'ooygit," meaning "a chief never speaks for himself."
"This christening marks an important milestone for T-ATS 12 and the dedicated workforce who brought this ship to life," said Miller. "It is an honor 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 263'x59' Solomon Atkinson is the second of three T-ATS vessels under construction at Austal USA's Mobile facility. The Navajo-class ships are designed to provide ocean-going towing, salvage, and rescue capabilities in support of fleet operations. The multimission platform will be capable of towing U.S. Navy ships and will feature approximately 6,000 sq. ft. of deck space to accommodate a range of embarked systems and mission sets.
The T-ATS class consolidates the capabilities of the retiring Rescue and Salvage Ship (T-ARS 50) and Fleet Ocean Tug (T-ATF 166) classes into a single platform, while supporting future capability initiatives through modular payloads and flexible interfaces. Planned missions include towing, salvage, rescue, oil spill response, humanitarian assistance, and wide-area search and surveillance.
