Published: Sunday, February 8, 2009
Third attempt to free U.S. warship fails
UPDATE:
The Navy said today that 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 today to pull the USS Port Royal off a rock and sand shoal. A Pacific Fleet spokeswoman said the Navy is reassessing its options.
ORIGINAL STORY:
HONOLULU -- The Navy offloaded fuel, water and personnel from a grounded, $1 billion guided missile cruiser so tugboats and a salvage ship can try again this morning to free it from a rock and sand shoal.
The USS Port Royal ran aground on Thursday, about a half-mile south of the Honolulu airport. No one was injured and no oil or other contaminants have leaked, Coast Guard officials said.
Rear Admiral Joseph Walsh, deputy commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, said the ship is structurally sound. But he said a rubber encasement that surrounds sonar equipment at the bow has taken on seawater.
A barge removed fuel and water from the Port Royal on Saturday, which Walsh said should make the grounded vessel about 200 tons lighter. The 9,600-ton warship will also be an additional 15 tons lighter because half the crew is on shore.
A lighter Port Royal, combined with a peak high tide and the pulling power of an oceangoing tug, some smaller tugs and the salvage ship Salvor, should do the trick when a third effort is made to free the ship around 3:25 a.m. today, Walsh said.
The Honolulu Star-Bulletin reported that the ship is skippered by Capt. John Carroll, who was previously assigned to the Everett-based frigate USS Rodney M. Davis in 2002.
The Navy said today that 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 today to pull the USS Port Royal off a rock and sand shoal. A Pacific Fleet spokeswoman said the Navy is reassessing its options.
ORIGINAL STORY:
HONOLULU -- The Navy offloaded fuel, water and personnel from a grounded, $1 billion guided missile cruiser so tugboats and a salvage ship can try again this morning to free it from a rock and sand shoal.
The USS Port Royal ran aground on Thursday, about a half-mile south of the Honolulu airport. No one was injured and no oil or other contaminants have leaked, Coast Guard officials said.
Rear Admiral Joseph Walsh, deputy commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, said the ship is structurally sound. But he said a rubber encasement that surrounds sonar equipment at the bow has taken on seawater.
A barge removed fuel and water from the Port Royal on Saturday, which Walsh said should make the grounded vessel about 200 tons lighter. The 9,600-ton warship will also be an additional 15 tons lighter because half the crew is on shore.
A lighter Port Royal, combined with a peak high tide and the pulling power of an oceangoing tug, some smaller tugs and the salvage ship Salvor, should do the trick when a third effort is made to free the ship around 3:25 a.m. today, Walsh said.
The Honolulu Star-Bulletin reported that the ship is skippered by Capt. John Carroll, who was previously assigned to the Everett-based frigate USS Rodney M. Davis in 2002.
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