A unique U.S. Navy vessel party made out of steel salvaged from the World Trade Center destroyed in the Sept. 11 2001 attacks has docked in Greece.
The USS New York, a San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock, is conducting naval operations in the U.S. 6th Fleet’s area of operations.
It is the fifth ship of the U.S. Navy to be named after the state of New York. It has a crew of 360 and can carry up to 700 Marines.
Nearly seven tons of the steel used in the ship’s construction came from the rubble of the World Trade Center; this represents less than one thousandth of the total weight of the ship.
The steel was melted down at Amite Foundry and Machine in Amite, Louisiana, to cast the ship’s bow section.
It was poured into the molds on Sept. 9 2003, with seven short tons (6.4 t) cast to form the ship’s ‘stem bar — part of the ship’s bow.
Foundry workers reportedly treated it with “reverence usually accorded to religious relics,” gently touching it as they walked by. One worker delayed his retirement after 40 years of working to be part of the project.
It has not been revealed how long it will remain in Corfu.