Following Wake of Terrorist Attacks, USS Cole is Relaunched
Shortly following terrorist attakcs in both New York and Washington, D.C., USS Cole, the destroyer, which was itself the victim of a terrorist attack, was relaunched back into the water on September 14 at Northrop Grumman Corporation. The ship was launched a day earlier than previously scheduled at the company's Ingalls Operations. The ship had been moved onto land in January into a construction bay near where Cole was originally built by Northrop Grumman. The USS Cole crippled in a terrorist attack in the Port of Aden, Yemen, on Oct. 12, 2000, returned to its construction shipyard on the deck of the Norwegian heavy lift ship Blue Marlin last December. Capt. Philip N.
Undocking of USS Cole to occur 15 September
USS COLE will be re-launched on 15 September 2001 from a floating dry dock at Northrop Grumman Ship Systems' Ingalls Operations, Pascagoula, MS. The ship will be moved to a nearby outfitting pier for completion of remaining work and will be returned to the Fleet in April 2002. The Naval Sea Systems Command's Supervisor of Shipbuilding, Conversion, and Repair, Pascagoula, MS (SUPSHIP) oversaw the restoration effort that commenced in March of this year, following the ship's return to the United States. Work aboard COLE consisted of structural repairs to replace areas damaged in the 12 October 2000 explosion in Aden, replacement of damaged or unserviceable equipment, and removal and evaluation and/or re-certification of critical systems such as shafting and propellers.
