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Former Senator Carl Levin On Hand To Witness Keel-Laying of the USS Carl Levin

February 1, 2019 / 10:31 AM EST / CBS Detroit

BATH, Maine (CBS Detroit/ AP) - Former Senator, Carl Levin, who served as chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, will be on hand to witness the keel-laying of the USS Carl Levin.

#SECNAV announces name of DDG 120, USS Carl M. Levin, as ship's namesake, @SenCarlLevin, looks on. #PlatformsMatter pic.twitter.com/GVZQUOTAw4
— Office of the Secretary of the Navy (@SECNAV) April 11, 2016

Levin, who served as chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, is attended to the ceremony Friday at Navy shipbuilder Bath Iron Works.

WASHINGTON, DC - NOVEMBER 20: Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI) questions a witness during a hearing of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee November 20, 2014 in Washington, DC. The committee heard testimony on the topic of "Wall Street Bank Involvement With Physical Commodities." (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

The keel-laying ceremony harkens back to the days of sailing vessels when construction began with a keel upon which the ship is built.

Modern warships aren't built that way, so the ceremony marks a milestone in steel fabrication. The 9,500-ton destroyers in the Arleigh Burke class can easily top 30 knots while simultaneously waging war with enemy ships, submarines, missiles and aircraft.

WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 17: Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Investigations Subcommittee Chairman Carl Levin (D-MI) gavels in a hearing about high speed stock trading in U.s. markets in the Hart Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill June 17, 2014 in Washington, DC. The committee heard testimony from experts and executives about conflicts of interest and the loss of investor confidence due to high speed trading. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)