The damaged USS John S. McCain (DDG-56) left Subic Bay in the Philippines to head towards Yokosuka, Japan, aboard a heavy lift vessel after repairing additional damage incurred by bad weather, the Navy said Monday.
In October, the severely damaged Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, aboard the heavy lift transport vessel MV Treasure, was travelling from Singapore’s Changi Naval Base to Fleet Activities Yokosuka for repair. On Oct. 22, bad weather and the finding of additional hull cracks caused the Navy to redirect it to Subic Bay.
While in the Philippines, technicians inspected the cracks and “determined the ship needed additional blocks under it to support and distribute its weight on the heavy lift vessel,” the Seventh Fleet said in a statement.
Now back on its way to Yokosuka, the McCain is set to be repaired at Ship Repair Facility-Japan Regional Maintenance Center (SRF-JRMC).
Lt. Cmdr. Sandra Wyman, assigned to the facility, said in a statement they are preparing to begin remediation and repair efforts once DDG-56 is dockside.
“The project will be one of the largest SRF has undertaken,” she said.
The McCain was damaged in a collision with a commercial vessel near the Straits of Malacca and Singapore in August, the second deadly collision this year. The Navy conducted numerous investigations and has released both a specific ship-focused report (Defense Daily, Nov. 1) and a Comprehensive Review of surface force incidents (Defense Daily, Nov. 2).
In early October the U.S. Pacific Fleet announced DDG-56 will be repaired in Yokosuka, unlike the similarly damaged USS Fitzgerald, because assessments found the work could be completed n Japan at a lower cost and return the ship to service faster (Defense Daily, Oct. 4).
The Senate Appropriations Committee in a report last week recommended $673 million for the Navy to repair and restore the two destroyers (Defense Daily, Nov. 27).