PASCAGOULA, Miss., Feb. 15 (UPI) -- Huntington Ingalls Industries has launched a new San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock ship for the U.S. Navy, the future USS Portland.
The vessel, which can carry 800 Marines and their equipment, is the 11th LPD of its class by HII and was transferred from a land-level facility on Saturday to a dry dock, which was then flooded allowing her to float off the blocks at an HII facility in Mississippi, the Navy reported.
LPD 17-class ships operate independently or as part of Amphibious Readiness Groups, Expeditionary Strike Groups or Joint Task Forces.
They feature a flight deck for CH-53 helicopters and V-22 Ospreys and a well-deck for the launch and recovery of landing craft and amphibious vehicles.
The 10th LPD for the Navy, the future USS John P Murtha, is in the final stages of production.
San Antonio-class LPDs are 684 feet long, 105 feet in the beam, and have a speed or more than 22 knots.
