The list of ship commissionings in 1997 includes a chronological list of all ships commissioned in 1997.
| Operator | Ship | Flag | Class and type | Pennant | Other notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 29 May |  Royal Navy | Grafton | Type 23 frigate | F80 | ||
| 30 June | Royal Navy | Scott | Scott-class ocean survey vessel | H131 | ||
| 4 July | Royal Navy | Sutherland | Type 23 frigate | F81 |
An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and facilities for carrying, arming, deploying, and recovering aircraft. Typically, it is the capital ship of a fleet, as it allows a naval force to project air power worldwide without depending on local bases for staging aircraft operations. Carriers have evolved since their inception in the early twentieth century from wooden vessels used to deploy balloons to nuclear-powered warships that carry numerous fighters, strike aircraft, helicopters, and other types of aircraft. While heavier aircraft such as fixed-wing gunships and bombers have been launched from aircraft carriers, these aircraft have not landed on a carrier. By its diplomatic and tactical power, its mobility, its autonomy and the variety of its means, the aircraft carrier is often the centerpiece of modern combat fleets. Tactically or even strategically, it replaced the battleship in the role of flagship of a fleet. One of its great advantages is that, by sailing in international waters, it does not interfere with any territorial sovereignty and thus obviates the need for overflight authorizations from third-party countries, reduces the times and transit distances of aircraft and therefore significantly increases the time of availability on the combat zone.
United States Ship is a ship prefix used to identify a commissioned ship of the United States Navy and applies to a ship only while it is in commission. Before commissioning, the vessel may be referred to as a "pre-commissioning unit" (PCU), but is officially referred to by name with no prefix. After decommissioning, it is referred to by name with no prefix, though people commonly refer to those ships with the prefix "ex-", as in ex-ship name. In-service but non-commissioned Navy ships go by the prefix USNS, which stands for United States Naval Ship.
The MS Estonia was a cruiseferry built in 1980 for the Finnish company Rederi Ab Sally by Meyer Werft, in Papenburg, West Germany. She was employed on ferry routes between Finland and Sweden by various companies until 1993, when she was sold to Nordström & Thulin for use on Estline's Tallinn–Stockholm route. The ship's sinking on 28 September 1994, in the Baltic Sea between Sweden, Finland and Estonia, was one of the worst peacetime maritime disasters of the 20th century, claiming 852 lives.
The Tacoma class was a class of 96 patrol frigates which served in the United States Navy during World War II and the Korean War. Originally classified as gunboats (PG), they were reclassified as patrol frigates (PF) on 15 April 1943. The class is named for its lead ship, Tacoma, a Maritime Commission (MARCOM) S2-S2-AQ1 design, which in turn was named for the city of Tacoma, Washington. Twenty-one ships were transferred to the British Royal Navy, in which they were known as Colony-class frigates, and twenty-eight ships were transferred under Lend-Lease to the Soviet Navy, where they were designated as storozhevoi korabl, during World War II. All Tacoma-class ships in US service during World War II were manned by United States Coast Guard crews. Tacoma-class ships were transferred to the United States Coast Guard and various navies post-World War II.
United States Naval Ship (USNS) is the prefix designation given to non-commissioned ships that are property of the United States Navy (USN).
USS Gloucester (PF-22), a Tacoma-class frigate in commission from 1943 to 1945, was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named for Gloucester, Massachusetts. She later served in the Soviet Navy as EK-26 and in the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force as JDS Tsuge (PF-12) and JDS Tsuge (PF-292).
USS Tacoma (PG-111/PF-3), the lead ship of the Tacoma-class patrol frigates. The third ship of the United States Navy to be named for Tacoma, Washington, she was in commission from 1943 to 1945, and from 1949 to 1951. She also served in the Soviet Navy as EK-11 and in the Republic of Korea Navy as ROKS Taedong (PF-63).
USS Albuquerque (PG-115/PF-7), a Tacoma-class patrol frigate in commission from 1943 to 1945 and from 1950 to 1953, was the first ship of the United States Navy to be named for Albuquerque, New Mexico. She also served in the Soviet Navy as EK-14 and in the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force as JDS Tochi (PF-16/PF-296) and as YAC-15.
USS Everett (PG-116/PF-8), a Tacoma-class patrol frigate in commission from 1944 to 1945 and from 1950 to 1953, thus far has been the only ship of the United States Navy to be named for Everett, Washington. She also served in the Soviet Navy as EK-15 and in the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force as JDS Kiri (PF-11/PF-291/YAC-20).
USS Bayonne (PF-21), a Tacoma-class frigate in commission in 1945 and from 1950 to 1953, thus far has been the only ship of the United States Navy to be named for Bayonne, New Jersey. She later served in the Soviet Navy as EK-25 and in the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force as JDS Buna (PF-14), JDS Buna (PF-294) and as YAC-11.
USS Belfast (PF-35), the only ship of the name, was a United States Navy Tacoma-class frigate in commission from 1943 to 1945. She then served in the Soviet Navy as EK-3.
USS Disdain (AM-222) was an Admirable-class minesweeper built for the United States Navy during World War II and in commission from 1944 to 1945. She was transferred to the Soviet Union in 1945 and after that served in the Soviet Navy as T-271.
USS LST-557 was a United States Navy LST-542-class tank landing ship in commission from 1944 to 1946.
The second USS Machias (PF-53) was a United States Navy Tacoma-class frigate in commission from 1944 to 1945 which later served in the Soviet Navy as EK-4 and the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force as JDS Nara (PF-2), JDS Nara (PF-282) and YTE-8.
Two ships operated by the Indian Navy have had the name INS Vikrant.
Project Hula was a program during World War II in which the United States transferred naval vessels to the Soviet Union in anticipation of the Soviets eventually joining the war against Japan, specifically in preparation for planned Soviet invasions of southern Sakhalin and the Kuril islands. Based at Cold Bay in the Territory of Alaska, the project was active during the spring and summer of 1945. It was the largest and most ambitious transfer program of World War II.