The night before Austal held a christening ceremony for the future USS Mobile, the ship’s sponsor, Rebecca Byrne, placed three items in a box that would remain on the ship throughout its service. The first was a piece of brick from the original Fort Conde to symbolize the city’s military history; the second was an oyster shell to symbolize a connection to the water; and the third was a Mardi Gras doubloon to symbolize the celebratory spirit of the Port City. It was this last relic Byrne carried in her message during a speech at the ceremony in front of an audience of more than 1,000.
“To be a Mobilian is to love life and to live it to the fullest,” she said. “I know it’s supposed to be my spirit in this ship, but that lively Mobile spirit will be there, too. Now, as all good Mobilians say, laissez le bon temps rouler! Which, loosely translated, means let’s go have some fun.”
The USS Mobile is the 13th littoral combat ship (LCS) Austal has christened for the Navy and the 20th ship overall in the last five years, Austal USA President Craig Perciavalle said.
“We’ve done a lot of christenings in the past and all are special,” he said. “Don’t tell anybody I said this, but this one is extra special.”
It has been a 20-year journey for the Australian company and its relationship with Mobile, Perciavalle said. In September 1999, he said, the company took a “huge risk” in opening up a facility in the Port City.
“Since then, Austal USA went from building small dinner boats and crew boats and passenger ferries out of a shed and a couple of double-wide trailers to, by 2010, being the prime manufacturer of two major Navy shipbuilding programs — the LCS and the expeditionary fast transfer — and, quite frankly, we’ve never looked back,” Perciavalle said. “By 2013, we had over 4,000 employees, we invested $450 million in the most advanced shipbuilding facility in the country and now we’re the fifth-largest shipyard in the U.S., having delivered 20 surface ships to the fleet with two more on the ready.”
The USS Mobile will be Austal’s “best ship yet,” Perciavalle said. It will have “incredible” speed and firepower.
“The Mobile will be the absolute coolest ship in the world,” he said. “It’ll be a ship that will represent the best America has to offer in the world for years to come.”
The ship will be stationed in San Diego, but will be deployed as part of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, U.S. Rep. Bradley Byrne, R-Montross, told the crowd. Its duties will include protecting allies from China’s influence, he said.
While it will be the fifth ship in the history of the Navy to bear the city’s name, Rep. Byrne said it will be the first “made in Mobile by our people.”
During the ceremony, Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson said the key to the city would travel with the ship wherever it goes.
“This is truly a proud day for all of Mobile,” he said. “It’s truly an honor to be standing here representing all of its citizens.”
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