USS Fitzgerald Arrives in Pascagoula for Repair
U.S. Navy warship USS Fitzgerald, which was damaged and nearly sunk after a fatal collision with a cargo ship in June and then was damaged again while on board a heavy lift transport vessel, has arrived in Pascagoula, Miss., for repair work at Huntington Ingalls Industries shipyard.
The Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer arrived in Pascagoula on January 19, aboard heavy lift vessel MV Transshelf inward bound from Yokosuka, Japan.
Fitzgerald is expected to spend several days in the Port of Pascagoula as the heavy lift ship will commence the reverse operation of unfastening, lowering and guiding the ship down off of the platform. The warship will then be taken to its designated pier space at the shipyard.
On June 17, 2017, USS Fitzgerald (DDG 62) was damaged on her starboard side above and below the waterline during a collision with the Philippine-flagged containership ACX Crystal off the coast of Japan
that killed seven U.S. Navy Sailors.
The destroyer later suffered two punctures in her hull caused by the heavy lift vessel's steel support structure during on load at anchorage.
The Navy said both repair and new construction procedures will be used to accomplish the restoration and modernization efforts due to the extent and complexity of the restoration. Various Hull Mechanical and Electrical (HM&E); Command, Control, Communications, Computers and Intelligence; and Combat System equipment, including the electronic warfare suite, radar, switchboard, gas turbine generator and air condition plant, require repair and/or replacement. Fitzgerald will also receive HM&E; Combat System; and Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Collaboration and Intelligence; upgrades that were originally planned for installation during a fiscal year 2019 availability.
The Navy expects work on the ship to occur on a land level facility throughout 2018 and one to two quarters of 2019, followed by an extensive test and trials period to ensure all systems and spaces are restored to full functionality and operational capability. The entire restoration and modernization effort is expected to complete approximately 24-months post work commencement on the ship.
Following the Fitzgerald collision, as well as the collision of guided missile destroyer USS John S. McCain with a merchant ship near Singapore in August, the Navy has dismissed several senior officers, including the commander of the Seventh Fleet, and the ship’s commanding officers are facing courts-martial and military criminal charges including negligent homicide.
