SAN DIEGO – Amelia Earhart's niece performed the christening honors Sunday night at General Dynamics NASSCO shipyard for a Navy cargo ship named for the pioneer aviator.
Associated Press
Fireworks detonate as the Military Sealift Command dry cargo/ammunition ship USNS Amelia Earhart (T-AKE-6) is launched during a nighttime christening ceremony Sunday at General Dynamics NASSCO shipyard in San Diego.
According to a release from the U.S. Department of Defense, the night event was timed to coincide with San Diego Bay tides deep enough to launch the 25,000-ton, 689-foot USNS Amelia Earhart.
Amy Kleppner, Earhart's niece broke the traditional bottle of champagne over the ship's bow.
Earhart became the first woman to fly across the Atlantic Ocean in 1932. Five years later, her plane disappeared over the Pacific Ocean while she was trying to fly around the world.
The ship will deliver ammunition, food, fuel and other dry cargo to U.S. ships at sea and will have a crew of 124.
One previous ship was named for Earhart, the Defense Department said, a Liberty cargo ship built in the U.S. during World War II.
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