Ship incorporates steel from the World Trade Center
Last Edited: Sunday, 02 Mar 2008, 5:57 PM EST
Created: Saturday, 01 Mar 2008, 8:55 PM EST

MYFOXNY.COM The U.S. Navy christened a new warship Saturday that pays tribute to the victims of the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks. The amphibious transport dock ship New York is officially named for the state but informally pays tribute to the city and the victims of the attacks. More than seven tons of steel salvaged from the wreckage of the World Trade Center was melted down and used in the construction of the bow stem.

It was named the New York at the request of then-Gov. George Pataki, who wrote a letter to the Navy after the attacks.Thousands of people, including friends and families of 9/11 victims, gathered Saturday at the ceremony at Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding facilities outside of New Orleans. The official motto of New York is Never Forget, which is painted on the hull.

This is a special day for a magnificent ship that has a special place in the heart of every American, Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England said during the ceremony. On the day the towers fell, all Americans were New Yorkers.

May God bless this ship and all who sail on her, ship sponsor Dotty England said before smashing a bottle of champagne against it, producing a loud thump to go with the spurting liquid and flying streamers.

The diesel-powered 25,000-ton San Antonio class vessel is 684 feet long, 105 feet wide and cost a billion dollars. It is armed with missile launches and two 30-millimeter guns. It will have a crew of 360 sailors and three Marines. It is also designed to transport a landing force of up to 800 Marines. The ship can launch four Sea Knight transport helicopters or two Osprey aircraft.

The prospective commanding officer is Cmdr. F. Curtis Jones who is from Binghamton, N.Y. The New York will be commissioned and added to the fleet next year in a ceremony at New York City, officially becoming the USS New York.

Two more San Antonio ships under construction include the Arlington and the Somerset, named for the other locations affected by Sept. 11: the Pentagon in Arlington, Va., and the field in Somerset, Pa., where United 93 crashed.

It is the fifth ship in the U.S. Navy to be named New York. The last was a battleship that served in both World Wars and was decommissioned in 1946. In addition, one Navy submarine was known as the USS New York City, and served the Navy from 1979 to 1997.

MyFoxNY.com with Associated Press and American Forces Press Service reports

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