The heavily damaged USS Fitzgerald (DDG-62) arrived in Pascagoula, Miss. on Jan. 19, where it will undergo repairs and upgrades at a Huntington Ingalls Industries’ [HII] shipyard.
The ship, loaded aboard the heavy lift vessel MV Transself, is expected to spend “several days” in the Port of Pascagoula as the vessel starts the reverse operations of unfastening, lowering, and guiding the Fitzgerald off the platform. DDG-62 will then be taken to its designated pier space at the HII shipyard.
The Navy destroyer was involved n a collision with a commercial vessel on June 17, killing seven sailors and damaging the Fitzgerald’s starboard side above and below the waterline (Defense Daily, June 18, 2017).
The Navy said that because of the complexity and extent of the damage, the restoration and modernization efforts will use both repair and new construction procedures.
Ship parts that require repair and/or replacement include several Hull Mechanical and Electrical (HM&E), C4I and Combat System equipment, including the electronic warfare suite, radar, switchboard, gas turbine generator, and air condition plant.
As part of this effort the Fitzgerald will undergo HM&E, combat systems, and C5I upgrades it was planned to get during a fiscal year 2019 availability.
Ship work is expected to last about 24 months after work begins. This includes a land-level facility from 2018 through one or two quarters of 2019, then there will be an “extensive” test and trials period “to ensure all systems and spaces are restored to full functionality and operational capability.”
Congress approved and President Donald Trump signed a continuing resolution on Dec. 22 that provided $673.5 million to repair the Fitzgerald and the similarly damaged USS John S. McCain (DDG-56) (Defense Daily, Dec. 22).