“So the ship’s been christened, so now it goes out to sea,
right? Or, is that the commissioning? Have they put the ship
into the water yet? And, when do they break the champagne
Just as there are many milestones in the life of a Navy ship,
there are a number of significant milestones and evolutions
involved in bringing that ship to life.
On 3 March 1819 an act of
Congress formally placed the responsibility for assigning names
to the Navy's ships in the hands of the Secretary of the Navy, a
prerogative which he still exercises. This act stated that "all
of the ships, of the Navy of the United States, now building, or
hereafter to be built, shall be named by the Secretary of the
Navy, under the direction of the President of the United States,
according to the following rule, to wit: those of the first
class shall be called after the States of this Union; those of
the second class after the rivers; and those of the third class
after the principal cities and towns; taking care that no two
vessels of the navy shall bear the same name." The last-cited
provision remains in the United States Code today.
How will the Navy name its ships in the future? It seems safe to
say that the evolutionary process of the past will continue; as
the Fleet itself changes, so will the names given to its ships.
It seems equally safe, however, to say that future decisions in
this area will continue to demonstrate regard for the rich
history and valued traditions of the United States Navy. More
The Sailors who
will eventually crew the ship are selected and ordered to the
ship starting about 12-18 months prior to delivery. They
establish a pre-comm detachment at the ship's prospective
homeport and a pre-comm unit (PCU) at the construction site. The
prospective crew will phase transfer to the construction site
starting with the nucleus crew about 12 months before delivery
through to the arrival of the balance crew shortly before
This is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. In earlier times it was the "laying down" of the central or main timber making up the backbone of a vessel. Today, fabrication of the ship may begin months before and some of the ship's bottom may actually be joined. However, the keel laying ceremony (also referred to as the keel authentication ceremony) symbolically recognizes the joining of modular components and the ceremonial beginning of a ship.
Stepping the Mast
The placement of the
mast into the hull in ancient times signified the moment when a
"shell" truly became a ship. To commemorate that moment, the
Romans placed coins under mast for good luck or to help deceased
Sailors into the afterworld. Today, coins, often reflecting the
ship's hull numbers, are typically placed under or near the mast
for good luck in a small ceremony.
This is the point when the ship
enters the water for the first time. Traditionally, it coincides
with the ship's christening with the ship sliding down the ways
into the water with a splash. Today, many launchings, such as
the one for San Antonio (LPD 17) take place separately from the
christening. For example, San Antonio was moved from the ways
into a drydock, which when lowered enabled the ship to "float"
for the first time.
The official launching
ceremony recognizing the "floating" of a ship by name and marked
with the traditional breaking of a bottle of champagne across
The blessing of ships dates as far back as the third millennium
BC, when the ancient Babylonians, according to a narrative,
sacrificed an oxen to the gods upon completion of a ship.
Throughout history, different cultures developed and shaped the
religious ceremony surrounding a ship launching.
Today the christening is often conducted after the launching.
The ship's sponsors who are most often women break the bottom of
champagne and ceremonially give the ship its name. The first
recorded christening of a United States Navy ship is USS
Constitution, on Oct. 21, 1797 in Boston, where the ship's
sponsor, Capt. James Sever, broke a bottle of wine across the
bow as "Old Ironsides" slid into the water.
Sea trials are an intense
series of tests to demonstrate the satisfactory operation of all
installed shipboard equipment. Sea Trials ensure that the
performance of the ship as a whole is in accordance with its
plans and specifications. New construction ships undergo
Builder's Trials and Acceptance Trials prior to ship's delivery
and Final Contract Trials several months after delivery and sail
The official turnover of custody
of a ship from the shipyard to the U.S. Navy. This private
ceremony involves the Prospective Commanding Officer who
actually signs for the ship. This event normally coincides with
Move Aboard when the Pre-commissioning crew moves aboard and
starts living, eating, standing watch, training and working
aboard the ship while final work continues in the shipyard.
The ship's final departure from
the construction yard for its homeport or commissioning site. It
signifies the end of the new construction period and the
beginning of its life preparing to perform the mission it was
designed to undertake.
The commissioning ceremony
marks the acceptance of a ship as a unit of the operating forces
of the United States Navy. At the moment of breaking the
commissioning pennant, the ship will "come alive" and the crew
will ceremonially run aboard ship. Thereafter the ship is
officially referred to as a United States Ship (USS).