US Navy commissions Future Expeditionary Sea Base warship USS John L. Canley

News, US February 19, 2024 , by IRIA No Comments

The United States Navy commissioned the future USS John L. Canley (ESB 6) as the newest Expeditionary Sea Base ship (ESB). The commissioning ceremony was held on February 17, 2024, in Coronado, California.

USS John L. Canley (ESB-6) is the United States Navy’s third-largest flight deck shit and the fourth Lewis B. Puller-class expeditionary mobile base. The ship was constructed in San Diego, California, by the National Steel and Shipbuilding Company (NASSCO), a division of General Dynamics.

The USS John L. Canley (ESB 6) is a “highly flexible platform” that can be used across various military operations, including aviation mine sweeping. According to the U.S. Department of Defense, “The ship will be employed as a mobile sea-based asset. It will be a part of the critical access infrastructure supporting the deployment of forces, equipment, supplies, and warfighting capability.”

The USS John L. Canley (ESB-6) has a length of 784 ft (239 m) and is equipped with Sea Giraffe AMB medium-range radar. It can carry various aircraft, including MH-53 and MH-60 helicopters.

The newly commissioned ship was named in honor of the United States Marine Corps Sgt. Maj. John L. Canley, Ret., who was awarded the Medal of Honor 50 years after his actions during the Battle of Hue City. Canley served as Company Gunnery Sergeant, Company A, First Battalion, First Marines, First Marine Division in Vietnam in 1968. He passed away in Bend, Oregon on May 11, 2022. The ship was christened just five weeks after Canley’s death.

During the commissioning ceremony, the late Retd. Sergeant Major Canley’s daughter Patricia Sargent said, “My father understood that greatness is not achieved by the individual. It is achieved by the courageous acts of the many.”

U.S. Marine Corps MV-22B Ospreys aboard the expeditionary sea base USS Lewis B. Puller (ESB 3) — ^{U.S. Marine Corps MV-22B Ospreys assigned to Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force – Crisis Response – Central Command 20.2, prepare for departure aboard the expeditionary sea base USS Lewis B. Puller (ESB 3) in the Arabian Gulf on August 11, 2020. (Image Credit: U.S. Marine Corps/Cpl. Cutler Brice)}

USS John L. Canley joins the USS Lewis B. Puller (ESB 3), USS Hershel “Woody” Williams (ESB 4), and USS Miguel Keith (ESB 5) which support a variety of maritime-based missions, including Special Operations Forces (SOF) and Airborne Mine Counter Measures (AMCM), the Pentagon statement added.

At present the U.S. Navy has six ships across two variants: Expeditionary Transfer Dock (ESD) and Expeditionary Sea Base. The ESDs are operated by the Navy’s Military Sealift Command, while the ESBs are mainly operated by the U.S. Navy with military personnel due to the nature of their operations.

Specifications:

Length: 239.3 Meters (785 feet)
Beam: 50 Meters (164 feet)
Displacement: 90,000 tons (fully loaded)
Draft: 10.5 Meters (fully loaded)
Speed: 15 knots
Range: 9,500 nautical miles
Propulsion: Commercial Diesel Electric Propulsion
Crew: 44 Military Sealift Command personnel
Military Crew: 101 military (Accommodations for 250)

The Expeditionary Sea Base ships have a four-spot flight deck, mission deck, and hangar, designed around four core capabilities: aviation facilities, berthing, equipment staging support, and command and control assets.

The two ESB ships Robert E. Simanek (ESB 7) and Hector A. Cafferata Jr. (ESB 8) are under construction. “The commissioning of ESBs provides combatant commanders greater operational flexibility to employ this platform in accordance with the laws of armed conflict,” the Pentagon statement highlighted.