Photo: USS Portland christened

The U.S. Navy christened the amphibious transport dock Portland (LPD 27) on May 20 in front of approximately 1,000 guests.

Ship’s sponsor, Bonnie Amos, smashed a bottle of sparkling wine across the bow of the ship, officially christening Portland.

U.S. Marine Corps Maj. Gen. Christopher Owens, director of the U.S. Navy’s expeditionary warfare division, was the keynote speaker.

“Marines love these ships,” he said. “They are perhaps the most versatile ships in the fleet. And in this current era when the United States faces a variety of threats and potential crises across the globe, LPDs uniquely enable the Navy and Marine Corps team to adapt and respond to a full range of scenarios we might face.”

Portland, the 11th San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock, is named for the largest city in the state of Oregon. The state has a long history with the Navy, going back to the construction of hundreds of World War II Liberty and Victory ships at three Portland-area shipyards.

Ingalls has delivered 10 San Antonio-class ships to the Navy with the most recent, John P. Murtha (LPD 26), delivering on May 13. Ingalls has also received more than $300 million in advance procurement funding for the 12th ship in the class, Fort Lauderdale (LPD 28).

The San Antonio class is the latest addition to the Navy’s 21st century amphibious assault force. The 684-foot-long, 105-foot-wide ships are used to embark and land Marines, their equipment and supplies ashore via air cushion or conventional landing craft and amphibious assault vehicles, augmented by helicopters or vertical takeoff and landing aircraft such as the MV-22 Osprey.