The US Navy’s severely damaged guided missile destroyer USS Fitzgerald is to be moved back to the US months after it collided with the containership ACX Crystal in Japan.
The warship “will be returning to the US for repairs,” the spokesperson for the US Navy 7th Fleet confirmed, adding that the deal to transport the ship is yet to be awarded.
The US Navy issued a tender to hire a heavy-lift vessel which would transport the warship to a dockyard in the vicinity of either Pascagoula, Mississippi or Portland, Maine.
The tender indicates that the damaged ship could start its voyage to the US as early as mid-September, however, the transport could also be conducted from early November.
In the collision with NYK Line-operated boxship on June 17, 2017, the US Navy destroyer suffered flooding and extensive damage, including a significant impact under its pilothouse on the starboard side and a large puncture below the ship’s waterline.
The ship underwent drydocking and repairs in Japan, however, it is not capable of sailing on its own, according to Reuters.
The collision, which occurred some 56 nautical miles southwest of Yokosuka, resulted in the deaths of seven crew members of USS Fitzgerald.
World Maritime News Staff