USS Santa Barbara commissioned at Naval Base Ventura County

The U.S. Navy commissioned a new combat ship at Naval Base Ventura County, Port Hueneme during a ceremony Saturday that ushered the vessel into active service.

The USS Santa Barbara, a so-called "littoral combat ship," or LCS, is an agile vessel built for near-shore and open-ocean naval security and surface warfare, according to the Navy.

The Santa Barbara is the Navy's 32nd littoral combat ship. It was announced in 2018, christened and launched in 2021 and delivered in July 2022. It has an aluminum trimaran design, one of the features of the LCS class's Independence variant. The other variant, the Freedom, has a steel monohull design. The even-numbered aluminum variants like the USS Santa Barbara are assigned to a squadron based in San Diego.

The vessel sailed past its namesake city last week on its way to Ventura County. It is the Navy's third ship named after the seaside city, with prior Santa Barbara vessels commissioned in 1918 and 1970, according to a Navy website.

"The city of Santa Barbara is rich in history, spanning hundreds of years of change and progress that make Santa Barbara an iconic location and a fitting name for LCS 32," said Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro in a statement.

Adm. Samuel Paparo, commander of the Pacific Fleet, spoke during Saturday's event along with other dignitaries.

Cmdr. Brian P. Sparks is commanding officer of the approximately 420-foot-long ship. The USS Santa Barbara was slated to sail to its home port in San Diego after Saturday's ceremony.

This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Combat ship USS Santa Barbara commissioned at Naval Base Ventura County