The new U.S. Navy towing, salvage and rescue ship named after the late Solomon Atkinson of Metlakatla was launched on Feb. 21 at the Austal USA shipyard in Mobile, Alabama.

The USNS Solomon Atkinson is now more than 75% complete, according to Austal, which held the keel-laying ceremony on April 16, 2025, at the shipyard in Mobile. The April ceremony was attended by members of Atkinson’s family, including his widow, Joann Atkinson, and daughters Michele Gunyah and Maria Hayward.

Born in 1930 in Metlakatla, Atkinson joined the U.S. Navy in 1952. He volunteered for underwater demolition teams and became a frogman in 1953. In 1962, he became one of the first Navy SEALS and is a “plank owner” — a member of the original founding crew — of SEAL Team 1.

Atkinson, a Tsimshian member of the Raven Clan, was the first American Native and Alaska Native to serve as a Navy SEAL.

Atkinson was deployed as a SEAL to Korea and served three combat tours in Vietnam, where he earned a Bronze Star, Purple Heart and Navy Commendation Medal with a Combat V, according to information presented as part of the keel-laying ceremony.

He later helped train 48 astronauts in underwater weightless simulations before retiring from active Navy service in 1973. After returning to Metlakatla, he served two terms as mayor of the Metlakatla Indian Community and served as a member of the MIC tribal council and school board.

He died in July of 2019 at the age of 89.

The USNS Solomon Atkinson will be the seventh of the Navy’s new Navajo Class multipurpose ships. The vessels are 263 feet in length with a beam of 59 feet and a displacement of 5,100 tons, according to Navy information.

The oceangoing, multi-mission-capable vessels have 6,000 square feet of deck space, according to Navy and Austal USA. They run with a crew of about two dozen and can accommodate more than 40 other personnel as needed for work assignments.

The ships are powered by twin 6,300-horsepower diesels and can run at 15 knots with a range of more than 9,000 miles.

Now launched, the Solomon Atkinson is being prepared for its “next major milestone,” as it’s readied for sea trials and delivery, according to the Austal announcement.