Nichols Martin
Huntington Ingalls Industries hosted a christening ceremony for the U.S. Navy‘s second America-class amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli at a company facility in Pascagoula, Mississippi.
Lynne Mabus, ship sponsor and wife of former U.S. Navy Secretary Ray Mabus, broke a bottle of wine over the ship’s bow as part of christening tradition, Huntington Ingalls said Saturday.
The 45,000-ton LHA 7 is designed to accommodate Osprey, Lightning, King Stallion, Viper and Night Hawk aircraft platforms.
LHA 7 is the third naval ship to carry the name Tripoli and honors U.S. Marines and nearly 370 foreign soldiers who captured the Tripolitan city of Derna in Libya during the 1805 Battle of Derna.
Thomas Dee, undersecretary of the Navy, delivered the keynote address to approximately 2,000 guests at the event.
