Above: Could a future Mobile-made Austal ship like this future USS Jackson LCS-6 carry the name of Alabama’s Port City? Mobile’s mayor hopes so. (contributed/Austal)

For more than three centuries, Mobile’s deep-water port has buoyed coastal and statewide trade, giving rise to a thriving shipbuilding industry and a rich maritime culture permeating practically every facet of the Port City’s identity.

In tribute to the city’s global maritime contributions and its shipbuilding workforce, Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson has petitioned Ray Mabus, secretary of the U.S. Navy, to consider naming a future littoral combat ship for Mobile. “As you know, Austal and those Mobilians that work here are producing incredible warships that not only meet the needs of your Navy today, but warships that can adapt to meet the evolving needs of the future,” Stimpson wrote to Mabus in an Oct. 12 letter requesting formally the city and its inhabitants be honored with the first naval ship bearing its name in more than 20 years.

Mobile is home to Austal USA, the U.S. headquarters for the Australia-based aluminum shipbuilder, which has evolved in less than 15 years from a modest yacht and ferry builder to a premier defense contractor and key architect of the U.S. Navy’s 21st-century fleet.

“Mobile workers are playing a key role in helping to build the world’s greatest navy, and we have a proud history of supporting our military. It seems only fitting that a USS Mobile be named to carry that tradition around the world as a symbol of our work ethic, craftsmanship and patriotism,” Stimpson told Alabama NewsCenter Friday.

Mobile’s mayor wants the U.S. Navy to name a future Austal ship like this LCS-6 to carry the name of Alabama’s Port City. Austal builds some of the Navy’s fleet in Mobile. (contributed/Austal)

Austal’s sprawling Mobile shipyard employs more than 4,000 people – making it the city’s largest private employer – and focuses on construction of both the Independence-class LCS and the smaller joint high-speed vessels. The former are 416-foot trimarans deployed to destroy mines, hunt submarines, intercept illegal drugs and offer humanitarian relief across the globe. The latter are 338-foot-long catamarans designed to be fast and flexible carriers of troops and equipment.

“You have seen firsthand the quality of workmanship that goes into each LCS and JHSV built here,” Stimpson wrote in his request to Mabus, adding, “Mr. Secretary, I think it is right to say that a little piece of Mobile goes into each of the Independence-class LCS ships made here in Mobile.”

A favorable decision, Stimpson wrote, would allow for the fifth vessel in naval history to carry the Mobile name.

The most recent USS Mobile, a Charleston-class amphibious cargo shipped known as an “L-ship” or LKA, was decommissioned in 1994, after deployments during both the Vietnam and Gulf wars. Its immediate predecessor CL-63, was a light cruiser awarded 11 Battle Stars for her Pacific Theater efforts during World War II.

Stimpson’s letter goes on to detail Mobile’s accomplishments of late, including the launch of the “Destination Mobile” brand, the start of aircraft production via Airbus’ U.S. Manufacturing Facility and the pending resumption of Carnival Cruise Lines service following a four-year hiatus.

A next-generation USS Mobile, he wrote, would serve as tribute “to those putting their heart and soul into every ship they build.”