USS Manchester Departs Alabama For Portsmouth

PORTSMOUTH, N.H. - The USS Manchester, the Navy’s newest littoral combat ship, is on its way to Portsmouth. According to Seacoast Online, the USS Manchester departed from Austal USA in Mobile, Alabama, May 5.

The ship is set to be commissioned in front of 5,000 on Saturday, May 26 at the Port of New Hampshire.

“We are proud to take full ownership of our new ship, but we also thoroughly enjoyed our time here in Mobile, Alabama, and were welcomed with open arms by the local community - especially the Mobile Navy League,” Cmdr. Emily Bassett, the ship’s commanding officer, said in a statement. “We left our homes in San Diego in August of last year for the shipbuilding yard here in Mobile, so after commissioning we are looking forward to reuniting with our families when we return to our home port this summer.”

The public is invited to welcome USS Manchester’s crew beginning May 21 when the ship arrives to Portsmouth Harbor. Portsmouth will roll out the red carpet for Cmdr. Bassett and her crew of 140 sailors that week leading up to the commissioning. The Commissioning Committee is asking local businesses and individuals to help support the cost of the community welcome. A number of activities, including visits to the ship’s namesake city of Manchester and to the USS Constitution in Boston, are being planned and paid for by the Commissioning Committee.

In addition, the week leading up to the ship’s commissioning will include several events around Portsmouth, getting Bassett and her crew acquainted with the city and its history. Bassett will be the guest of honor at a Chamber Collaborative of Greater Portsmouth luncheon honoring women and leadership, and she and her crew will take in the annual “Hit The Decks” day May 24 from a seat on the Gundalow Company’s Piscataqua, ultimately arriving at Martingale Wharf.

To read the full story, visit Seacoast Online.

Courtesy Photo / USS Manchester