The damaged Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS John S. McCain (DDG- 56) resumed its voyage to Yokosuka, Japan, today, after being diverted to Subic Bay last month.
McCain was damaged in an Aug. 21 fatal collision near Singapore. After sitting pierside in Singapore’s Changi Naval Base for seven weeks while crew members and divers patched up holes and put key ship systems in layup maintenance status ahead of the voyage, the destroyer loaded onto heavy lift transport vessel MV Treasure on Oct. 5. On Oct. 22, though, bad weather and a new crack in McCain’s hull forced Treasure to divert to Subic Bay, Philippines.
“While at anchor in Subic Bay, technicians inspected the cracks and determined the ship needed additional blocks under it to support and distribute its weight on the heavy lift vessel,” according to a U.S. 7th Fleet statement released today.
McCain will now continue to Fleet Activities Yokosuka, where the destroyer will be repaired after the collision with merchant vessel Alnic MC ripped open the port side of the ship and caused flooding in berthing and mechanical spaces. The work will be completed at the Ship Repair Facility-Japan Regional Maintenance Center (SRF-JRMC), and McCain is expected to then resume its work as a Forward Deployed Naval Force ship operating out of Yokosuka.
“SRF is making preparations to begin remediation and repair efforts immediately once the ship is dockside,” Lt. Cmdr. Sandra Wyman, assigned to SRF-JRMC, said in the Navy statement.
“The project will be one of the largest SRF has undertaken.”
Also this week, damaged destroyer USS Fitzgerald (DDG-62) attempted to leave Yokosuka for the United States, where it is set to be repaired at the Ingalls Shipbuilding yard in Pascagoula, Miss. However, heavy lift transport vessel Transshelf punctured Fitzgerald’s hull during the onload process, and the destroyer had to return to Yokosuka.
