On the evening of July 24, 2024, a ceremony took place in Haifa to officially commission two new large landing ships, Nahshon and Komemiyut, built in the USA, into the Israeli Navy. The ceremony was attended by Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Chief of General Staff of the Israel Defense Forces, Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi. The ships, constructed at Bollinger Mississippi Shipbuilding, part of the American shipbuilding company Bollinger Shipyards in Pascagoula, Mississippi, joined the newly formed landing ship division (“Palgat ha-Nahattot”) of the Israeli Navy, thereby marking the restoration of Israel’s naval landing capabilities.
The American-Israeli agreement to build two large landing ships for the Israeli Navy in the USA using American military aid was concluded in 2019 and was initially kept secret. It became publicly known only in May 2022.
Under the agreement, two ships were built for Israel, designated as LSV (Logistic Support Vessel) and similar to the General Frank S. Besson-class LSV transport and landing ships of the US Army. The ships for Israel were constructed at the same VT Halter Marine shipyard (formerly Halter Marine until 2003) in Pascagoula, which had previously built the General Frank S. Besson-class LSV ships. In November 2022, the VT Halter Marine shipyard was acquired by the well-known American shipbuilding company Bollinger Shipyards from its then-owner (Singaporean company ST Engineering) and renamed Bollinger Mississippi Shipbuilding.
The first landing ship built there for Israel, Nahshon, was handed over to the Israeli Navy in Pascagoula on August 8, 2023, and arrived in Haifa on September 28, 2023. The second ship, Komemiyut, arrived in Haifa on June 16, 2024. Now both have been officially commissioned into the Israeli Navy, becoming the largest units in its fleet.
Eight General Frank S. Besson-class LSV transport and landing ships (LSV-1 to LSV-8) were built by Halter Marine specifically for coastal and inter-island transport for the US Army from 1987 to 2007, with two more such ships built for the Philippine Navy. According to published data, the two ships built for Israel are similar to the last two American ships of this type, LSV-7 SSGT Robert T. Kuroda and LSV-8 Major General Robert Smalls, which were commissioned into the US Army in 2005 and 2007, respectively, and have increased dimensions, with a full displacement of 5400 tons, a length of 96 meters, and a width of 20 meters.
The twin-shaft power plant includes two diesel engines with a total power of 5000 horsepower, providing a top speed of up to 13 knots when empty and 12 knots when fully loaded. The range at full load exceeds 5000 miles. Architecturally, the ships are typical large traditional landing ships with bow and stern ramps, allowing equipment to move along the entire length of the cargo hold and to be unloaded on an unprepared shore. The ship’s cargo deck is designed for any equipment used by the US Army and can carry up to 15 main battle tanks or 82 ISO standard containers. The total cargo capacity of the ship is up to 2280 tons. The crew is about 30 people. Standard armament is absent on the American LSV ships, and it is unclear whether it will be installed on the Israeli ships.
Since the mid-1990s, when all small landing ships and landing craft were decommissioned, the Israeli Navy has had no landing forces, and only in 2011-2012 did the Israeli fleet acquire three small 50-ton 23-meter-long Manta-class landing craft of Singaporean design (BRAVE-18T project, with an 18-ton cargo capacity). Now, with the commissioning of two large landing ships, Israel’s naval landing capabilities will significantly increase.
