SAN DIEGO - The U.S. Navy's newest amphibious ship will arrive in its homeport of San Diego for the first time Wednesday, the Defense Department announced today.

The 864-foot USS Anchorage, under the command of Capt. Brian Quin, took about two years to build and began sailing toward San Diego from its shipbuilding site in Avondale, La., on Oct. 30, according to the Naval Surface Forces public affairs office.

"Sailing Anchorage to San Diego culminates those years of hard work by both her shipbuilders and her crew," Quin said in a statement. "We are excited to be reunited with our families and look forward to continuing the process of preparing Anchorage for her maiden deployment."

The Anchorage boasts a complement of 32 officers and 364 enlisted personnel.

The route to San Diego took the Anchorage through the Panama Canal and along the coast of Mexico, with its first liberty port call in Manzanillo.

The San Antonio class amphibious transport dock's primary use will be to embark, transport and land personnel, air and land vessels of a U.S. Marine Corps landing force.

According to the Navy, the Anchorage will be commissioned in May in its namesake city. The ship is the Navy's second to be named after Anchorage, Alaska.