U.S. Cruiser Totaled By A Sand Bar

Strategy Page ^ | 3-17-09 | James Dunnigan

[Renfield]

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, he 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.

[river rat]

So much went wrong here - it’s hard to know where to begin.

Annapolis appears to be turning out far too many losers...and crew training can’t be up to snuff.

There have been far too many instances of our ships being damaged by “accident” or failure to provide adequate “force protection”

One would think that our modern and very electronically sophisticated warships should be capable of avoiding KNOWN hazards in close proximity to their own port area of Hawaii!!!!

How much is known about this Captain?

[Kozak]

It's not been announced how it hit the shoal, which is marked on charts.

[Travis T. OJustice]

Let me suggest the crap WAS on the charts, as is evidenced by this line in the article: " It's not been announced how it hit the shoal, which is marked on charts.

[Vn_survivor_67-68]

“The ship may be there for months, and the total cost for repairs may be over $50 million”

Fix it. There is nothing on the face of the earth that can be had for $50m equal to this. I want it in our fleet.

[shotdog]

A grounding like this can ruin your whole day.

[Doohickey]

Which part of that quote do you find shocking?

[chrisser]

Does a ship run a full crew during sea trials or is just a subset required?

[Doohickey]

Because the launch tubes beneath them got mis-aligned?

[Zeddicus]

Well, the skipper certainly screwed up big, but I find it incredible that a warship could have been so heavy damaged from a soft grounding. Guess they don’t build ‘em like they used to.

[Doohickey]

More or less full crew plush augmentees from shipyard and any other agency that needs it’s system validated underway.

[cups]

Go big or go home I always say!

[river rat]

A little more information.

USS Port Royal Runs Aground In Hawaii… Captain Is Toast.

One of the biggest, most expensive and most technologically advanced warships based at Pearl Harbor ran aground in 17 to 22 feet of water half a mile off Honolulu International Airport’s reef runway.

Navy tugs tried early yesterday morning to nudge the 9,600-ton, 567-foot-long guided missile cruiser USS Port Royal off the sandy and rocky bottom, but were unsuccessful, officials said.

Captain John Carroll was replaced as commander of the USS Port Royal pending an investigation into how the ship ran aground about a half-mile (0.8 kilometers) south of Honolulu Airport last Thursday, authorities said.

The state-of-the-art 9,600-ton guided missile cruiser was freed from shoal waters south of Oahu early Monday after it spent three days stuck on a rocky and sandy seabed in 22 feet (6.7 meters) of water.

The cruiser was hauled to Pearl Harbor where it will enter dry dock repairs. Navy officials did not have a cost estimate for the salvage operation.

[WayneS]

That ship draws 33 feet of water?

[chrisser]

Thanks!

[WayneS]

The story says the debris WAS on the charts.

[CodeJockey]

The ship may be there for months, and the total cost for repairs may be over $50 million.

Let's see. AIG Bailout 85 Billion and we're talking 50 million for repairs. Chump change.

I think 1,000 million = 1 billion. Sorry if I am wrong, but I don't normally work with such large numbers.

So we gave AIG 85 X 1,000 million??? Let me repeat, 55 million is chump change.

[Buck W.]

“The ship may be there for months, and the total cost for repairs may be over $50 million.”

That’s just a few AIG bonuses.

[Clive]

Where I grew up, back in olden times, back when Noah was a shipwright, this would have been an occccasion for an Admiralty Board of Inquiry. Best the Captain could hope for was a posting as NOIC Aden.

[I Hate Obama]

Our warships can probably withstand missles, but not construction debris? It was probably made in China.

[r9etb]

but I find it incredible that a warship could have been so heavy damaged from a soft grounding

Which suggests that it wasn't all that "soft" a grounding after all. It took 4 days to get the ship off the sandbar, and they beat the hell out of it trying to do so.

Sounds to me like the good captain was moving at a pretty good clip, to get it 10 feet up onto a sandbar.