USS Tulsa To Be Christened February 11

The USS Tulsa is closing in on another milestone. The ship will be christened February 11th.

The christening marks the end of shipbuilding and the start of outfitting it for active duty.

Steve Gerkin with the USS Tulsa Steering Committee said, "Approximately two weeks after the christening they will take this ship out of its hangar, roll it out onto a barge and put it into the water for the first time."

Former Mayor Kathy Taylor, the ship's sponsor, will have the honor of breaking a bottle on the hull, and, instead of champagne, it could be a bottle of crude oil.

The ship is currently under construction in Alabama. It goes into duty late 2018.