US Navy Commissions USS Miguel Keith (ESB 5)
Maritime Activity Reports, Inc.
May 10, 2021
The Lewis B. Puller-class expeditionary mobile base USS Miguel Keith (ESB 5) sits pierside during the ship’s commissioning ceremony. (Photo: Kevin C. Leitner / U.S. Navy)
The U.S. Navy commissioned its newest Expeditionary Sea Base (ESB) ship USS Miguel Keith (ESB 5) Saturday, at Naval Air Station North Island, Coronado, Calif.
Built by General Dynamics NASSCO, the 785-foot USS Miguel Keith is the third ESB variant of the Expeditionary Transfer Dock platform (ESD). Expeditionary Mobile Base was previously known as Afloat Forward Staging Base (AFSB) in the Mobile Landing Platform (MLP) program. ESBs are highly flexible platforms that provide logistics movement from sea to shore supporting a broad range of military operations. The ESB variant is designed around four core capabilities: aviation, berthing, equipment staging area, and command and control.