ASTORIA, Ore. — The USS Portland, a new Navy ship that will be commissioned later this month in its namesake city, has entered the Columbia River.
The Daily Astorian reports that the vessel with nearly 400 crewmembers aboard docked at the Port of Astoria on Thursday.
It will leave for Portland on Saturday, where it will be commissioned on April 21.
The San Antonio-class amphibious transport weighs 25,000 tons and is 684 feet long.
It is the first ship to be named exclusively for Oregon’s largest city.
It was built in Mississippi for $1.6 billion and sailed through the Panama Canal before docking in San Diego in January.
Gary Piercy, commissioning committee chairman, says the ship would likely respond to an emergency like a large Pacific Northwest earthquake.
Information from: The Daily Astorian, http://www.dailyastorian.com
