Navy to Christen Amphibious Transport Dock Ship Fort Lauderdale Saturday

The Navy will christen its newest amphibious transport dock, the future USS Fort Lauderdale (LPD 28), during a 10 a.m. CDT ceremony Saturday, Aug. 21, at the Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) Ingalls Division shipyard in Pascagoula, Mississippi.

The mayor of Fort Lauderdale, the Honorable Dean Trantalis, will deliver the ceremony’s principal address. Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Ship Programs Ms. Bilyana Anderson and Vice Adm. William Galinis, commander, Naval Sea Systems Command, will also provide remarks. In a time-honored Navy tradition, the ship’s sponsor, Ms. Meredith Berger, will christen the ship by breaking a bottle of sparkling wine across the bow.

“Tomorrow we christen the future USS Fort Lauderdale, recognizing a city with a proud naval history,” said Secretary of the Navy, the Honorable Carlos Del Toro. “This momentous occasion brings us one step closer to ‘manning the rails’ with the men and women who will carry on the naval tradition of defending our nation and working towards a more peaceful world.”

USS Fort Lauderdale is the first ship to be named for the city of Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

The future Fort Lauderdale is the 12th San Antonio-class ship. The ships are designed to support embarking, transporting and bringing ashore elements of 650 Marines by landing craft or air cushion vehicles. The ship’s capabilities are further enhanced by a flight deck and hangar, which can operate CH 46 Sea Knight helicopters and the Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft (MV-22). San Antonio-class ships can support a variety of amphibious assault, special operations or expeditionary warfare missions, operating independently or as part of Amphibious Readiness Groups (ARGs), Expeditionary Strike Groups, or joint task forces.