Ingalls Shipbuilding begins construction of another Navy ship

PASCAGOULA — Major construction has begun on another ship in a series of amphibious transport vessels.

The Navy held a keel authentication yesterday for the LPD 26, the John P. Murtha, at Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula. The Navy tradition signifies that the LPD 26′s keel has been “truly and fairly laid.”

The authenticator, Mobile, Ala., resident Wilfred Bolds, marked his initials on a keel plate, which will be affixed to the vessel.

LPD 26 is the 10th ship in the San Antonio class of ships built by Ingalls, which has delivered six such ships to the Navy.

The vessel is named for the late U.S. Rep. John P. Murtha, D-Penn., who served in the Marines. Murtha died in 2010. It is scheduled to be delivered to the Navy in 2015.