Largest ship with Alcoa aluminum is christened

Alcoa Defense has congratulated Austal USA on the christening of the Coronado, an all-aluminum combat ship that will feature aluminum supplied by Alcoa Davenport Works.

Inaugurated last month in Mobile, Ala., the Coronado is the second Independence-variant Littoral Combat Ship, or LCS, to be built.

With a trimaran-hull design and the largest flight deck of any U.S. Navy combatant, the 127-meter ship is one of the single largest uses of aluminum in the world, Alcoa said.

Alcoa announced in October 2010 that it had won a contract to produce aluminum sheet and plate through 2014 for Austal’s military and commercial vessels, including the Joint High Speed Vessel that Austal is building for the U.S. Navy. At the time, Davenport Works officials said the contract would mean even more production if Austal landed the Navy’s LCS contract.

More than 1 million pounds of aluminum goes into each LCS, which helps make the ship lighter, stronger and faster. The LCS is the largest aluminum vessel being constructed today and most of the 5083-alloy aluminum plate is being produced at the Quad-City plant.

In addition to marine plate, Alcoa Defense also supplies fabricated aluminum subassemblies for Austal LCS.

The Coronado is the second of an expanded 12-ship, Independence Class LCS program. Austal USA, a division of Austal Inc., also built the first LCS, the Independence, as part of the competitive bid. The original one was built of steel.

David Dobson, Alcoa Defense president, said Alcoa was selected for many reasons, including that its rolling mills can produce the widest range of sizes in the industry.

“Alcoa and Austal are working together to introduce innovative flight deck tie-downs, aluminum armor solutions and large, thick plate sub-assemblies to subsequent LCS vessels that will take even more weight off the ship and improve shipbuilding efficiency.”

In addition to the LCS program, Alcoa Defense and Davenport Works are supplying Austal with aluminum for the Joint High Speed Vessel program. Austal has been awarded contracts for seven of the 10 planned vessels as part of the $1.6 billion contract.