Source: http:\/\/www.honoluluadvertiser.com\/article\/20090924\/BREAKING01\/90924066\/Navy+wraps+up++40+million+in+repairs+to+Port+Royal<\/p>\n
Updated at 5:05 p.m., Thursday, September 24, 2009<\/p>\n
By William Cole
\nAdvertiser Military Writer<\/p>\n
Workers at the Pearl Harbor shipyard undocked the cruiser Port Royal today as the Navy wraps up nearly $40 million in repairs – a milestone in the warship’s return to service after an embarrassing grounding near Honolulu International Airport’s Reef Runway in February.<\/p>\n
Combined teams of BAE Systems and Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard engineers and technicians worked alongside Port Royal sailors on the replacement of the 567-foot ship’s bow-mounted sonar dome; refurbishment of the shafting, running gear and propellers; painting of the underwater hull; and on structural repairs to the ship’s tanks, and cracks in the superstructure, the Navy said.<\/p>\n
The guided missile cruiser ran aground on coral and sand in 14 to 22 feet of shoal water a half-mile off Honolulu airport’s reef runway on the night of Feb. 5. It was stuck for four days and returned to drydock on Feb. 19.<\/p>\n
The nearly $40 million in repairs followed $18 million in shipyard refurbishment immediately prior to the grounding. The ship was on its first day of sea trials when the accident occurred.<\/p>\n
Repair work will continue pierside, the Navy said. Additionally the ship’s crew will conduct several weeks of “extensive pierside and underway testing to ensure all systems are operational,” officials said.<\/p>\n
A misinterpreted navigation system, a sleep-deprived skipper, faulty equipment and an inexperienced bridge team led to the grounding of the Port Royal, according to a Navy Safety Investigation Board report.<\/p>\n
Capt. John Carroll, the ship’s skipper, had only 4 1\/2 hours of sleep in 24 hours, and 15 hours of sleep over three days as he pushed to get the warship under way after shipyard repairs, the report states.<\/p>\n
He was at sea in command for the first time in nearly five years.<\/p>\n
The 9,600-ton cruiser’s fathometer, which measures water depth, was broken, and both radar repeaters, or monitors, on the bridge were out of commission.<\/p>\n
A shift in the ship’s navigation system led to erroneous information on the ship’s position. The switch from a Global Positioning System to a gyroscope caused a 1.5-mile discrepancy in the ship’s position and set off alarm bells that were continuously disregarded, according to the safety board.<\/p>\n
During the transfer of personnel back to shore that night using a small boat, the operations officer took a binocular bearing to the harbor landing from the boat deck and noted a discrepancy.<\/p>\n
He tried unsuccessfully to radio others and then headed back to the bridge, where he immediately realized the cruiser was in the wrong spot.<\/p>\n
The safety board report states that at 8:03 p.m., the Pearl Harbor ship was “soft aground” with the bow’s sonar dome on the reef a half-mile south of the reef runway.<\/p>\n
Waves forced the ship firmly onto the reef as the crew tried to free it. “Backing bell” and “twist” maneuvers using one screw, or propeller, failed.<\/p>\n
The board found many equipment malfunctions and human errors – but said there were enough working sensors and visual cues to prevent the grounding.<\/p>\n
“Bridge watch team, navigation, and (Combat Information Center) team did not work together to assess situation and keep the ship from standing into danger,” the report stated.<\/p>\n
The report said the ship unknowingly ended up shifting two miles to the east.<\/p>\n
Carroll was relieved of his command soon after the grounding. He appeared at a Navy hearing on the grounding and was given “nonjudicial punishment for dereliction of duty and improper hazarding of a vessel,” the Navy said in June.<\/p>\n
Along with Carroll, executive officer Cmdr. Steve Okun appeared at the hearing and was given nonjudicial punishment for dereliction of duty, the Navy said.<\/p>\n
Two officers and an enlisted sailor appeared at a separate hearing and also were given nonjudicial punishment for dereliction of duty and improper hazarding of a vessel, the Navy said. Their names were not released.<\/p>\n
The Navy, in coordination with the state, has spent more than $7 million stabilizing the reef at the grounding site by reattaching thousands of coral colonies and removing 250 cubic yards of rubble.<\/p>\n
Reach William Cole at wcole@honoluluadvertiser.com.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Navy wraps up $40 million in repairs to Port Royal Source: http:\/\/www.honoluluadvertiser.com\/article\/20090924\/BREAKING01\/90924066\/Navy+wraps+up++40+million+in+repairs+to+Port+Royal Updated at 5:05 p.m., Thursday, September 24, 2009 By William Cole Advertiser Military Writer Workers at the Pearl Harbor shipyard undocked the cruiser Port Royal today as the Navy wraps up nearly $40 million in repairs – a milestone in the warship’s return … <\/p>\n