The Navy has abandoned plans to repair the USS Miami (SSN-755), saying the estimated cost to restore the Los Angeles-class (SSN-688) attack submarine struck by an arsonist blaze last year had grown too high.
Rear Adm. Rick Breckenridge told reporters on a conference call Wednesday that the expected cost to repair the damage had grown to about $700 million above the original $450 million estimate. Given the fiscal climate caused by sequestration and the strain on the fleet maintenance budget, the Navy made the “heart wrenching” decision to inactivate the Miami, Breckenridge said.
 |
| The USS Miami (SSN-755) after it arrived in Portsmouth in March 2012 for an overhaul. Photo by U.S. Navy |
“We will lose the five deployments that Miami would have provided over the remaining ten years of her planned service life, but in exchange for avoiding the cost of repairs, we will open up funds to support other vital maintenance efforts, improving the wholeness and readiness of the fleet,” he said.
The Miami was set ablaze by a civilian employee at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in southern Maine on May 23, 2012. The arsonist was eventually convicted and subsequently sentenced to 17 years in prison, according to the Associated Press.
Breckenridge said the entire front end of the sub would have had to have been gutted, and the cost increases were largely attributed to the “environmentally assisted cracking” in steel piping and fasteners used in the air, hydraulic, and cooling water systems, and a number of components in the torpedo room would require replacement. Many of those problems were caused by the after effects and debris from the fire.
Fifty million dollars had already been spent in the repair effort, mainly on cleaning up the Miami following the fire and for initial planning for refurbishment, Breckenridge said. He acknowledged that it was difficult to defend those cost allocations now that the ship will be inactivated, but said over the long run the decision will save money and alleviate some of the burden on the maintenance accounts for the rest of the fleet.
It was in dry dock undergoing maintenance at Portsmouth when it was hit by the fire. Breckenridge said the deactivation will take place there as well.