Sent off by exciting crowds along the Mississippi River, the USS New York, an amphibious assault vessel, left New Orleans for its trip to New York on Tuesday.
After it is officially commissioned in early November, the Navy warship will be stationed at the Naval base in Norfolk, Virginia.
The 208-meter-long ship can carry up to 800 Marines, and launch cargo and troop transport ships and launch helicopters from its deck. It costs 1.2 billion dollars to build.
The warship was built at the Northrup Grumman's Shipyard just outside of New Orleans.
The USS New York is the first of three ships to hit the seas that is and will be named after locations that were involved with the 9/11 attacks. Still under construction are the Somerset (Pennsylvania County) and the Arlington (Pentagon).
Two hijacked jetliners crashed into the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001, destroying the twin towers and killing nearly 2,800 people. In September 2002, the US Defense Department announced the selection of New York as the ship's name, honoring the city and state and those who died in the attacks.
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