Amphibious warship USS John P. Murtha (LPD-26) left San Diego, Calif., on Thursday after two days of repairs, USNI News has learned.
The ship left San Diego just after 11 a.m. local time, according to local ship spotters. The amphib, assigned to the Makin Island Amphibious Ready Group, returned to port after deploying last week.
A spokesperson from Expeditionary Strike Group 3 told USNI News that Murtha suffered a casualty in the ship’s lube oil system that was repaired. The spokesperson did not have additional details on the casualty.
Murtha deployed with USS Makin Island (LHD-8) and USS Anchorage (LPD-23) with 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit for a Pacific deployment.
The ARG/MEU includes the aviation combat element with the “Flying Leathernecks” of Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 122 flying F-35B Lightning II Joint Strike Fighters and the “Ugly Angels” of Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 362 (Reinforced) flying MV-22B Ospreys; the logistics combat element made up of Combat Logistics Battalion 13; and the ground combat element with 2nd Battalion, 4th Marines.
Murtha and Anchorage have been tested as recovery platforms for NASA’s Orion spacecraft. It’s unclear what San Antonio-class ship the Navy will use to recover the Orion capsule that was launched on Wednesday as part of the Artemis I mission. The capsule is expected back in mid-December.
