New York – The USS New York, built with steel from the fallen World Trade Center to serve as America’s newest warship for high-speed amphibious assaults, arrived in Manhattan for a ceremonious welcome Monday.

The $1 billion vessel paused for a 21-gun salute within view of the twin towers site, then sailed to Pier 98 at West 48th Street to be greeted by Mayor Michael Bloomberg. The mayor and former Gov. George Pataki offered more than 7 tons of trade center steel to the U.S. Navy after the Sept. 11, 2001, attack.

The ship’s insignia depicts the twin towers, blood and a phoenix rising from flames. The symbols evoke the character of a ship that its captain, Cmdr. F. Curtis Jones, said he recognized as unique when he first encountered it under construction in Avondale, La.

“I walked underneath the ship and put my hand on the hull and every hair on my body stood on end,” Jones, 42, told reporters after the ceremony. “Each and every one of the sailors and Marines that are on board feel that very thing every day.”

The 684-foot New York is part of a new class of ships that can do the work of four older generations of amphibious landing craft, according to the Navy. Its flight deck can launch and land its four helicopters and two Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft simultaneously. It can carry up to 800 Marines.

REBIRTH AND TRANSFORMATION

“The message of this ship and the symbolism of this ship is really the rebirth, the transformation of something that was very evil,” Jones said. “This is a force for good. We are part of the global force for good.”

The bow contains the 7.5 tons of steel recovered from the World Trade Center. The ship has more gear, weapons systems and modern communications equipment than older ships.

Beyond the gate to Pier 98, a crowd gathered to gaze at the slate-gray vessel arriving at its mooring.

“It’s a great way to pay tribute to those who died on 9/11,” said Dianne Baumert-Moyik, 45, who works for shipbuilder Northrop Grumman Corp. Her husband is a New York City firefighter, she said.

“We lost a lot of friends that day and the ship will carry on their memories,” Baumert-Moyik said. “It represents our ability to persevere.”

About 10 percent of the crew hails from New York state, Jones said, including himself, a native of Binghamton.