Huntington Ingalls Industries’ (HII) Ingalls Shipbuilding division announced on July 3, that the amphibious transport dock USS Portland (LPD-27) has completed her first set of sea trials. Ingalls’ test and trials team spent four days in the Gulf of Mexico operating the 11th San Antonio-class ship and demonstrating its systems.
«This successful sea trial is another testament to the quality work our shipbuilders continue to provide in the LPD program», said Ingalls Shipbuilding President Brian Cuccias. «These are complex vessels, and I’m proud of our workforce, who have the skills and knowledge it takes to design, build and test these American warships».
Major testing conducted during builder’s trials include anchor-handling, ballast/de-ballast of the ship’s well deck, detect-to-engage, full power ahead and astern and steering demonstrations.
«We place great importance on our relationships with our customers and the responsibility we have to the sailors and Marines who will own this ship», said Kari Wilkinson, Ingalls’ vice president of program management. «The LPD team is strong and very prepared to continue providing these capable assets to our country».
Ingalls’ shipbuilders are now preparing Portland for acceptance trials in August, when the U.S. Navy’s Board of Inspection and Survey (INSURV) will conduct inspections and witness final demonstrations before the ship is delivered to the U.S. Navy.
«Our shipbuilders continue to work in concert with one another, and this ship is another example of their successes», said George Jones, Ingalls’ vice president of operations. «We have the best construction team in our industry today, and this team, along with the nationwide supplier base, will continue to see more successes with their winning behaviors and team spirit».
LPD-27 will be the third U.S. Navy ship named Portland, honoring both the Oregon seaport and Maine’s largest city.
Ingalls has delivered 10 San Antonio-class ships to the Navy, including USS John P. Murtha (LPD-26) in 2016. Ingalls will lay the keel of the 12th San Antonio-class ship, USS Fort Lauderdale (LPD-28), this fall. Last Friday, Ingalls was awarded an advance procurement contract for LPD-29.
The San Antonio class is a major part of the Navy’s 21st century amphibious assault force. The 684-foot-long/208-meter-long, 105-foot-wide/32-meter-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. The ships support a Marine Air Ground Task Force across the spectrum of operations, conducting amphibious and expeditionary missions of sea control and power projection to humanitarian assistance and disaster relief missions throughout the first half of the 21st century.
USS Portland (LPD-27) completes builder’s sea trials
General Characteristics
| Builder | Huntington Ingalls Industries |
| Propulsion | Four sequentially turbocharged marine Colt-Pielstick Diesels, two shafts, 41,600 shaft horsepower |
| Length | 684 feet/208 m |
| Beam | 105 feet/32 m |
| Displacement | Approximately 24,900 long tons (25,300 metric tons) full load |
| Draft | 23 feet/7 m |
| Speed | In excess of 22 knots/24.2 mph/38.7 km/h |
| Crew | Ship’s Company: 374 Sailors (28 officers, 346 enlisted) and 3 Marines. Embarked Landing Force: 699 (66 officers, 633 enlisted); surge capacity to 800 |
| Armament | Two Bushmaster II 30-mm Close in Guns, fore and aft; two Rolling Airframe Missile (RAM) launchers, fore and aft: ten .50 calibre/12.7-mm machine guns |
| Aircraft | Launch or land two CH-53E Super Stallion helicopters or two MV-22 Osprey tilt rotor aircraft or up to four CH-46 Sea Knight helicopters, AH-1 or UH-1 helicopters |
| Landing/Attack Craft | Two LCACs or one LCU; and 14 Expeditionary Fighting Vehicles/Amphibious Assault Vehicles |
San Antonio-class
| Ship | Builder | Launched | Commissioned | Homeport |
| USS San Antonio (LPD-17) | Avondale | 07-12-2003 | 01-14-2006 | Norfolk, Virginia |
| USS New Orleans (LPD-18) | Avondale | 12-11-2004 | 03-10-2007 | San Diego, California |
| USS Mesa Verde (LPD-19) | Ingalls | 11-19-2004 | 12-15-2007 | Norfolk, Virginia |
| USS Green Bay (LPD-20) | Avondale | 08-11-2006 | 01-24-2009 | San Diego, California |
| USS New York (LPD-21) | Avondale | 12-19-2007 | 11-07-2009 | Norfolk, Virginia |
| USS San Diego (LPD-22) | Ingalls | 05-07-2010 | 05-19-2012 | San Diego, California |
| USS Anchorage (LPD-23) | Avondale | 02-12-2011 | 05-04-2013 | San Diego, California |
| USS Arlington (LPD-24) | Ingalls | 11-23-2010 | 02-08-2013 | Norfolk, Virginia |
| USS Somerset (LPD-25) | Avondale | 04-14-2012 | 05-01-2014 | San Diego, California |
| USS John P. Murtha (LPD-26) | Ingalls | 11-02-2014 | San Diego, California | |
| USS Portland (LPD-27) | Ingalls | 02-13-2016 | ||
| USS Fort Lauderdale (LPD-28) | Ingalls | |||
| LPD-28 |