PASCAGOULA, Miss. -- The Navy's newest amphibious transport dock has been named after Oregon's largest city -- but Mayor Charlie Hales wasn't on hand to see it.
The Portland is the 11th San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock built by Huntington Ingalls Industries. Portland's mayor wasn't there for its christening Saturday in Pascagoula, Mississippi.
Hales last month said he wouldn't go out of protest over a new law that allows business groups to refuse service against gay or lesbians based on religious beliefs.
At the christening, the head of the Navy's expeditionary warfare division said the ships may be the fleet's most versatile. Marine Corps Maj. Gen. Christopher Owens said Marines love the 684-foot-long ships, from which smaller craft take Marines. their equipment and supplies to shore.
LPD 27 is the third ship named Portland. The first, named after Portland, Maine, was launched in 1932 as the lead ship of a new class of heavy cruisers. The second USS Portland was an amphibious landing ship commissioned in 1970. It was named after the cities in both Maine and Oregon.
-- The Associated Press and staff reports