The capabilities of the USS Mesa Verde make it a key component in the ability of the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) Special Operations Capable (SOC) to respond to crises around the world.

Most recently, the USS Mesa Verde arrived in Narvik, Norway, on August 5 for a scheduled port visit to enhance the US-Norway relationship and demonstrate commitment to NATO allies.

"USS Mesa Verde and the 26th MEU(SOC) team is excited to visit Narvik, with its rich military history, and to work with Norwegian forces in order to increase our interoperability and increase our strategic partnership," Capt. Marc Davis, the commanding officer of the USS Mesa Verde, said in a statement.

While in port, the Mesa Verde off-loaded US Marine Corps equipment and vehicles in support of a routine bilateral Norway training exercise.

The USS Mesa Verde is one of three ships of the Bataan Amphibious Ready Group (ARG) paired with the 26th MEU(SOC).

The other two ships -- the USS Bataan and USS Carter Hall -- transported elements of the 26th MEU(SOC) to Bahrain on August 6. The USS Mesa Verde remained in Europe.

More than 3,000 US sailors and Marines entered the Red Sea via the two ships after transiting through the Suez Canal in a pre-announced deployment, the US Navy's Bahrain-based 5th Fleet said in a statement.

The deployment adds to efforts "to deter destabilizing activity and de-escalate regional tensions caused by Iran's harassment and seizures of merchant vessels," 5th Fleet spokesman Commander Tim Hawkins told AFP.

The US military says Iran has either seized or attempted to take control of almost 20 internationally flagged ships in the region over the past two years.

Amphibious transport

The USS Mesa Verde (LPD [landing platform, dock] 19) is a San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock ship commissioned in 2007 and home ported in Norfolk, Virginia.

LPDs are used to transport and land Marines, their equipment and supplies via embarked Landing Craft Air Cushion (LCAC), conventional landing craft or amphibious assault vehicles (AAVs) augmented by helicopters or vertical take off and landing aircraft, according to a US Navy fact sheet.

San Antonio-class ships support amphibious assault, special operations or expeditionary warfare missions and can serve as secondary aviation platforms for ARGs.

Fully loaded, the USS Mesa Verde displaces 24,900 long tons fully loaded, making it roughly the size of other nations' heavy cruisers.

With a speed of 22 knots (40.7km/h), it can carry an embarked landing force of 699 Marines that can surge to 800.

The USS Mesa Verde can carry two LCACs or one Landing Craft Utility (LCU), four Naval Special Warfare rigid-hulled inflatable boats (RHIBs), four MV-22B Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft, one VBAT unmanned aircraft system, eight LAVs and up to 50 other wheeled vehicles.