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Military Sealift Command accepted de-livery of its newest dry cargo/ammunition ship, USNS Medgar Evers (T-AKE 13), during a short ceremony at the General Dynamics NASSCO Ship Yard San Diego. The ship, which was christened Nov. 12, 2011 in San Diego, honors slain civil rights leader Medgar Wiley Evers, who is remembered for his efforts to end segre- gation at the University of Mississippi in the 1950s and for his opposition to JimCrow laws in the 1960s. Since its launch, the ship has been undergoing a series of tests and trials in preparation for its de-livery to MSC. ?As USNS Medgar Evers joins the MSC fleet of combat logistics shipstoday, the food, ordnance and fuel it will provide to the Navy?s combatant ships at sea are critical mission enablers for ourglobally deployed naval forces,? said Tim McCully, Military Sealift Command Pa- cific?s deputy commander. ?From sup- porting an aircraft carrier?s 75-plus air- craft and 5,500 crew members, to trans- porting humanitarian assistance anddisaster relief supplies, USNS Medgar Evers and more than 30 other MSC un- derway replenishment ships bring to life the motto: MSC delivers!? The 689-foot long Evers, designated T- AKE 13, is the 13th of 14 new dry cargo/ammunition ships scheduled for delivery to the Navy by the end of this year. The first 11 dry cargo/ ammunition ships are currently operating as part ofMSC?s Combat Logistics Force, deliver- ing vital fuel, equipment and supplies toNavy warships at sea. The remaining 3 of the 14-ship T-AKE class are expected to be assigned to maritime prepositioningsquadrons, which strategically place combat cargo at sea for rapid delivery to warfighters ashore. Evers has a crew of 125 civil service mariners working for MSC and 11 Navy Sailors who provide operational support and supply coordination. T-AKEs are the newest class of Com- bat Logistics Force ships being built for MSC. They are replacing some of MSC's aging, single-mission supply ships suchas Kilauea-class ammunition ships andMars- and Sirius-class combat storesships as they reach the end of their serv- ice lives. May 2012www.marinelink.com 27Wärtsilä on NASDAQ to?Ring the Bell?Wärtsilä executives late last month visited NASDAQ MarketSite in Times Square, New York City, to officially ?ring the bell? to open trading on April 26, 2012. In honor of the oc- casion, Bjorn Rosengren, CEO, Wärtsilä Cor- poration and Frank Donnelly, President, Wärtsilä North America will rang the Open- ing Bell. In 2011, Wärtsilä's net sales totalled EUR 4.2 billion with approximately 18,000 em-ployees. The company is listed on the NAS- DAQ OMX Helsinki. (Photo Greg Trauthwein) MSC Accepts T-AKE Class Ship USNS Medgar EversMR May 12 # 4 (25-33):MR Template 5/7/2012 2:41 PM Page 27
