Littoral Combat Ship USS Detroit (LCS-7) was towed into a Florida port after losing power on its way to port for repairs, after suffering a previous engineering casualty that took it out of an international exercise, Navy officials confirmed to USNI News on Friday.
The Freedom-class LCS was bound for its homeport at Naval Station Mayport, Fla., when the ship lost power.
“USS Detroit (LCS-7) experienced an engineering casualty. After a thorough technical evaluation, it was determined that repairs would need to be made in port,” Cmdr. Ashley Hockycko.
“During the ship’s return transit to her homeport of Mayport, Fla., the ship lost electrical power. The ship is currently being towed to Port Canaveral by M/V Gary Chouest. Due to deteriorating weather in the area, the ship was towed to Port Canaveral, Fla., the closest port, out of an abundance of caution and for the safety and comfort of the crew.”
Ship spotters observed Detroit entering the port under tow early Friday afternoon. The East Coast of Florida is in the path of the remnants of Hurricane Eta, which is expected to cause high winds in the area.
Detroit and USS Gabrielle Giffords (LCS-10) were slated to participate in the UNITAS exercise off the coast of Ecuador in the Pacific, two Navy officials confirmed to USNI News this week.
A message left with U.S. 4th Fleet on the status of the exercise was not immediately returned.
Late last month, Detroit suffered another casualty to its combining gear that links its diesel engines to its gas turbine engines, forcing it to return to port, reported Defense News.
