The US Navy’s eleventh San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock USS Portland (LPD 27) is entering service in a ceremony on Saturday, April 21, at the Port of Portland, Marine Terminal 2 in Portland, Oregon.
Deputy secretary of defense Patrick M. Shanahan will deliver the ceremony’s principal address. Bonnie Amos, wife of the 35th Commandant of the Marine Corps, retired Gen. James F. Amos, will serve as the ship’s sponsor.
“USS Portland enters service in a period of dynamic security challenges, and I am confident this ship and crew will conquer these and future challenges because of the strength and talent of the Sailors and Marines who will serve aboard this ship,” said Secretary of the Navy Richard V. Spencer. “I am certain that USS Portland will proudly represent both the United States and the people of Portland in maritime operations around the world for decades to come.”
USS Portland (LPD 27) is the second ship to honor Oregon’s largest city and is the third US Navy ship to bear the name Portland. The first ship was heavy cruiser USS Portland (CA 33), named for the city in Maine, which was commissioned Feb. 23, 1933. The second ship, dock landing ship USS Portland (LSD 37), named for the cities of the same name in Maine and Oregon, was commissioned Oct. 3, 1970.
The future Portland is designed to support embarking, transporting, and landing elements of more than 800 Marines with both a flight deck, which accommodates CH-53E Sea Stallion, CH-46/SH-60 helicopters and MV-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft, and a well deck, which can launch and recover landing craft and amphibious vehicles.
Shipbuilder Huntington Ingalls Industries has delivered 11 San Antonio-class ships to the Navy and currently has one more, Fort Lauderdale (LPD 28), under construction. In June, Ingalls received an advance procurement contract from the Navy to provide long-lead-time material and advance construction activities for LPD 29, the 13th ship of the San Antonio class.