Austal Lays Keel For Kingsville

MOBILE, Ala. — Austal USA recently celebrated the keel laying for Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) 36, the future USS Kingsville, Business Alabama reported. Ceremonies took place at the company’s shipyard on the Mobile Riverfront and formally symbolized the beginning of the ship’s construction. Katherine Kline, a member of the sixth generation of the King Ranch family, at Kingsville, Texas, and near Naval Air Station Kingsville, was honored by her initials being welded onto the aluminum keel plate. The ship is the 18th crafted by Austal for the U.S. Navy and marks the first to be named for the city. The LCS is a high-speed, shallow-draft surface vessel designed for operations near shore.