The Navy has christened a 338-foot expeditionary fast transport ship called Point Loma, making the auxiliary vessel the latest to bear a name that directly or indirectly refers to San Diego.
The ship was christened Saturday at Austal USA shipyard in Mobile, Alabama. It is the newest Spearhead-class fast transport to come off the line.
“The ship is named in honor of the community of Point Loma and its decades long relationship with the Navy, beginning with the establishment of the Naval Coaling Station, La Playa, in 1901, and later the Naval Supply Center San Diego in 1943,” the Navy said in a statement.
The Point Loma carries the USNS designation because it is a non-commissioned ship that will be operated for the Navy by a civilian crew under the Military Sealift Command. It is designed to deliver supplies and personnel rapidly, particularly in comparatively shallow waters. It can travel about 40 mph and take care of nearly 150 patients.
The Navy previously operated a deep submergence support ship known as the USS Point Loma. The fleet currently has an amphibious transport dock ship named USS San Diego. And it intends to build a hospital ship called Balboa, which is the nickname of Naval Medical Center San Diego.
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