USN Ticonderoga class cruiser runs aground in Hawaii

[CougarKing]

At least no one was hurt.

Navy takes off fuel, water, people to lighten ship

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090208/ap_on_re_us/ship_grounding

By HERBERT A. SAMPLE, Associated Press Writer

HONOLULU – The Navy is moving fuel, water and personnel off a grounded, $1 billion cruiser so tugboats and a salvage ship can try again early Sunday morning to free the vessel from a rock and sand shoal.

The USS Port Royal, a guided missile cruiser, ran aground on Thursday evening, about a half-mile south of the Honolulu airport.

With less fresh water, fuel and crew, the ship should be 215 tons lighter and easier to move at high tide on Sunday.

Rear Admiral Joseph Walsh, deputy commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, says there is no structural damage from the grounding. But a rubber casing around sonar equipment at the bow may be taking in water.

No one was injured when the ship grounded and no oil or other contaminants have leaked.

 

[stukirkpatrick]

I agree, but it does bring a new meaning to "shore leave" doesn't it?

 

[Journeyman]

Rear Admiral Walsh, DComd of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, added later that the shoal was known to the Navy.
"Clearly, the ship is not where the ship should have been."

Ya think?  ;D

 

[Rigger052]

Glad to see that there was no irreversible damage done, (except to the careers of the duty officer and possibly navigator as well). Must have quite the feeling when they stopped.

 

[Ex-Dragoon]

Glad to see that there was no irreversible damage done, (except to the careers of the duty officer and possibly navigator as well). Must have quite the feeling when they stopped.

The Captain as well will be swept up as well because no matter who is on watch it still is his ship.

 

[geo]

A bunch of careers go down the tube....
and just wait and see what the repair bill looks like - all that sensitive equipment, damaged by the salt water & the rocks.... this'll keep the contractor in business for another little while.

 

[CougarKing]

Not exactly an encouraging sight.

And a 3rd attempt to free the ship fails:

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jbdZTVOfhpMNklJUwcq6GePEDEXgD967I1280

Latest try to free ship grounded at Hawaii fails
7 hours ago

HONOLULU (AP) — The Navy says its third attempt to free a $1 billion warship that ran aground off the coast of Hawaii has failed.

Tugboats and a salvage ship tried unsuccessfully for four hours early Sunday to pull the USS Port Royal off a rock and sand shoal. The guided missile cruiser ran aground Thursday about a half-mile south of the Honolulu airport.

Pacific Fleet spokeswoman Agnes Tauyan says the Navy is reassessing its options.

The Navy had removed fuel, water and some personnel from the 9,600-ton vessel on Saturday in an effort to lighten it.

The 15-year-old Port Royal ran aground as it was finishing the first day of sea trials following four months of routine maintenance at the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard.

No one was injured and no contaminants leaked.

 

[CougarKing]

Good. Took them long enough to free her.

http://www.google.com/hos...klJUwcq6GePEDEXgD96860IO2

Navy frees stuck warship off coast of Honolulu
1 hour ago

PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii (AP) - The Navy on Monday freed the $1 billion guided missile cruiser that had been stuck for more than three days since it ran aground close to the coast of Honolulu.

The USS Port Royal was pulled off a rock and sand shoal at around 2 a.m. after crews removed about 500 tons of water and 100 tons of anchors and other equipment to lighten the vessel, the Navy said in a statement.

The removal by a salvage ship and seven tug boats took about 40 minutes.

No one was injured during the recovery effort, said Rear Adm. Joe Walsh, the U.S. Pacific Fleet deputy commander.

The area was to be examined to determine if the ship leaked any fuel, said Coast Guard Capt. Barry Compagnoni.

The Port Royal was being towed to Naval Station Pearl Harbor for inspection.

The guided missile cruiser ran aground Thursday just off Honolulu International Airport. It was visible to everyone flying in and out of Oahu and also was in clear view from a nearby public beach park.

The ship ran hit bottom while sailors, contractors and shipyard personnel were being unloaded. The 15-year-old Port Royal usually has about 24 officers and 340 enlisted sailors on board.

Efforts to refloat the vessel during the weekend were unsuccessful. On Sunday, the Navy was able to turn the ship more than 20 degrees but still couldn't pull it free.

The Navy has not discussed what might have caused the grounding. An investigation was expected once the ship returns to shore.

The vessel had just finished its first day of sea trials after wrapping up a four-month routine maintenance stay at Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard.

The Pearl Harbor-based Port Royal, one of the Navy's most advanced ships, is equipped with Aegis ballistic missile tracking technology.

 

[tomahawk6]

http://www.strategypage.com/dls/arti...-3-17-2009.asp

U.S. Cruiser Totaled By A Sand Bar
by James Dunnigan
March 17, 2009

The damage appears to much worse than initially thought, as a result of the USS Port Royal, an American cruiser, running aground on February 5th. The ship was returning to its base in Hawaii after the first day of sea trials. The ship slid into a shoal of sand and rock, which was actually construction debris from a nearby air port. The Port Royal had spent the last four months in a shipyard, getting a normal batch of upgrades and maintenance. The 9,600 ton ship has been in service for 15 years, and is the 27th, and last, Ticonderoga class cruiser to be built.

It took four days to get the cruiser off the shoal, which was done by removing about a thousand tons of weight from the ship. It's not been announced how it hit the shoal, which is marked on charts. The Port Royal draws 33 feet of water, and the shoal is 22 feet under water. The captain of the Port Royal was relieved, which is normal for a grounding such as this.

Initially, the only damage mentioned was to the propellers (the tips were torn off), and a leak in one of the sonar domes. There was no hull breach. But even then, it was believed that the propeller shaft and shaft bearings would have to be replaced as well.

The actual damage turned out to be far worse. The drive shafts and the steel supporting them were twisted out of alignment as the ship was rocked back and forth. It's feared that this damage might be so bad that the drive shafts, reduction gears and engines might have to be replaced. This could cost tens of millions of dollars.

The sonar dome has to be replaced, and the hatches for some of the missile cells (silos) were also twisted out of alignment and have to be replaced. Some of the sensors and antennae on the main mast were twisted out of alignment by the shock of hitting the reef, and have to be repaired or replaced. Instruments and sensors on the bottom of the ship were destroyed or damaged by the grounding. The water exhaust and intake ports in the hull were jammed with debris, and have to be repaired or replaced (otherwise the sanitation, air conditioning and ballast systems will not work)

So after one day of sea trials, the Port Royal is right back to the shipyard and dry dock. The ship may be there for months, and the total cost for repairs may be over $50 million. There will probably be courts martial for whoever screwed up the navigation that put the ship on a known shoal. Professional mariners don't do that sort of thing in clear weather and calm seas.

 

[geo]

... and news in the papers this weekend that a fleet sub was involved in a collision with a marine amphib carrier... the Sail is shot & the carrier sprang a major oil leak.

it's gonna be an expensive pair of refits

 

[Love793]

Wow, and our drivers get angry having to redo a DDC ;D

 

[benny88]

I was under the impression that the navigation on a ship like that went through so many redundant systems and people that it made something like this almost impossible. That is just a layman's perspective, but can anyone who has served onboard a ship give me an idea of just how many people need to screw up to make this happen?

 

[TimBit]

I was under the impression that the navigation on a ship like that went through so many redundant systems and people that it made something like this almost impossible. That is just a layman's perspective, but can anyone who has served onboard a ship give me an idea of just how many people need to screw up to make this happen?

We ran aground on my MARS III. I wasn't OOW ;D

Bottom line is, no matter what sonar, radars, buoys, signs you have, in the end it all depends on what commands the OOW or the CO (in my case) gives...

 

[Ex-Dragoon]

I was under the impression that the navigation on a ship like that went through so many redundant systems and people that it made something like this almost impossible. That is just a layman's perspective, but can anyone who has served onboard a ship give me an idea of just how many people need to screw up to make this happen?

Do people still not get lost these days with GPS, Google Earth? Do we know if other ships were in the area and what their actions may have been? Crew fatigue may be a factor not to mention their navigational system might have been faulty. Lets wait for the final report from the Board of Inquiry before we are so quick to condemn....

 

[benny88]

Do people still not get lost these days with GPS, Google Earth? Do we know if other ships were in the area and what their actions may have been? Crew fatigue may be a factor not to mention their navigational system might have been faulty. Lets wait for the final report from the Board of Inquiry before we are so quick to condemn....

  True enough, but my question was more conceptual than specific. Instead of "How many people screwed up" what I meant was: How many layers (man or machine) have to be affected for something this this to happen?


Edit for a spelling error

 

[CougarKing]

An update:

http://www.navy.mil/view_single.asp?id=76856

090924-N-0676F-001 PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii (Sept. 24, 2009) Docking Officer Lt. Cmdr. Michael Smith, far left, oversees the undocking of USS Port Royal (CG 73) from Dry Dock 4 at Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard. Port Royal was in dry dock for about seven months to repair damage sustained when the ship ran aground in February, 2009. The red-and-white checkered hardhat signifies Smith as the docking officer. (U.S. Navy photo by Marshall Fukuki/Released)

http://www.navy.mil/view_single.asp?id=76857

090924-N-3944N-005 PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii (Sept. 24, 2009) USS Port Royal (CG 73) undocks from Dry Dock 4 at Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard. Port Royal was in dry dock for about seven months to repair damage sustained when the ship ran aground in February. (U.S. Navy photo by Liane Nakahara/Released)