The future USS John L. Canley will be commissioned Saturday at Naval Base North Island. It's just the sixth expeditionary sea base in the Navy.
Expeditionary sea bases, or ESBs, function as helicopter carriers. The large, flat-top ship almost looks like an oil tanker — that's because its design is based on one.
The Canley, unlike its amphibious ship cousins, has a large, open-air mission bay below its flight deck where all manner of equipment can be carried. What it carries depends on its mission, said Capt. Thomas Mays, the Canley's commanding officer.
It's more versatile than other amphibious ships, Mays said.
"(The Marines) needed a secondary platform to handle some missions — mine sweeping, mine hunting, special forces operations," Mays said Thursday during a tour of the ship.
Special operations are already being staged from ESBs. Last month, Navy SEALs operating from the expeditionary sea base USS Lewis B. Puller seized Iranian weapons bound for Yemen during a raid on a vessel, according to U.S. Central Command.
Two San Diego-based SEALs were killed during the mission when they were lost at sea.
The Canley differs from most Navy warships in other ways. Active duty sailors and civilian mariners comprise its crew, with sailors handling operations and the civilians overseeing ship functions such as navigation and engineering.
About 145 sailors make up its military crew and there's room for about 200 embarked troops, Mays said.
The ship is named for Marine Corps Sgt. Maj. John L. Canley. Canley was awarded the Medal of Honor in 2018 for his actions in Vietnam 50 years prior. He died in 2022.
The Canley was built by the National Steel and Shipbuilding Company in San Diego.
