USS New York (LPD-21)

USS New York (LPD-21), the fifth San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock, is the fifth ship of the United States Navy to be named after the state of New York. New York has a crew of 360 and can carry up to 700 Marines. It is notable for using a symbolic amount of steel salvaged from the World Trade Center after it was destroyed in the September 11 attacks.

Construction
The ship is the first to be designed fully from the CAD-screen up to support all of the Marines' primary mobility capabilities — Landing Craft Air Cushion and MV-22B Osprey.

Shortly after 11 September 2001, Governor of New York George E. Pataki wrote a letter to Secretary of the Navy Gordon R. England requesting that the Navy bestow the name "New York" on a surface warship involved in the War on Terrorism in honor of the victims of the September 11 attacks.

The contract to build New York was awarded to Northrop Grumman Ship Systems of New Orleans, Louisiana, in 2003. New York was under construction in New Orleans at the time of Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

7.5 ST of the steel used in the ship's construction came from the rubble of the World Trade Center; this represents less than one thousandth of the total weight of the ship. The steel was melted down at Amite Foundry and Machine in Amite, Louisiana, to cast the ship's bow section. It was poured into the molds on 9 September 2003, with 7 ST cast to form the ship's "stem bar" — part of the ship's bow. The shipyard workers reportedly treated it with "reverence usually accorded to religious relics", gently touching it as they walked by. One worker delayed his retirement after 40 years of working to be part of the project.

Sister ships announced
On 9 September 2004 Secretary England announced that two of New York sister ships will be named USS Arlington (LPD-24) and USS Somerset (LPD-25) in commemoration of the places where two of the other planes used in the attack came down: Arlington County, Virginia, and Somerset County, Pennsylvania.

Christening
New York was christened on 1 March 2008, in a ceremony at Avondale Shipyard in New Orleans. Dotty England, the ship’s sponsor, smashed the traditional champagne bottle on the ship’s bow and christened the ship New York. Several dignitaries were in attendance, including Louisiana Congressman William J. Jefferson, Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon R. England, members of the New York City Police Department and the New York City Fire Department, and family members of 11 September victims. The champagne bottle did not break the first time it was struck against the hull of the ship, but the second attempt was successful.

The ship was delivered to the Navy on 21 August 2009 at New Orleans. The ship's delivery was accepted by its first commanding officer, (then CDR) CAPT F. Curtis Jones, USN, a native of Binghamton, New York. She set sail for Norfolk, Virginia, on 13 October 2009. On 2 November 2009 the ship passed the World Trade Center site for the first time and gave the site a 21-gun salute.

Commissioning and trials
The ship commissioning of USS New York took place on 7 November 2009, in New York City. Speakers included Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus, Gov. David Paterson, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Gary Roughead, and Commandant of the Marine Corps General James T. Conway.

Approximately one in seven of the plank owners are from New York state, a larger number than usual.

On 11 January 2010, the Navy announced that the ship would have to undergo repairs for faulty engine parts after a premature failure of bearings on the ship’s main propulsion diesel engines during a week long sea trial following the November commissioning. The Navy did not say how long the ship would be docked. The current Commanding Officer is CAPT Jon C. Kreitz.

Service history
On 10 Jun 2012 the ship was deployed for the first time to the Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf region. It deployed with Marines from 1st Battalion, 2d Marine Regiment, 2d Marine Division and returned in December of 2012 along with the USS Iwo Jima and the USS Gunston Hall with Marines from the same unit attached to all three ships.