USS New Orleans (LPD18) Collision Repair-Divers and Dry Docks Unite to Return USS New Orleans to Deployment

摘要

On March 20, 2009, USS New Orleans (LPD 18) collided with USS Hartford (SSN 768) while transiting through the Strait of Hormuz and into the Arabian Gulf. Following the collision, USS New Orleans reported flooding in two ballast water tanks, flooding in one fuel oil tank, and fuel oil spilling from the starboard beam. Within hours of the casualty, numerous US Navy and contractor activities sprung into action to complete a damage assessment and coordinate an emergent voyage repair to allow USS New Orleans to return to deployment. Mid-Atlantic Regional Maintenance Center Detachment Bahrain coordinated the repair effort which included both a waterborne repair phase and a dry docking phase to permanently repair severe structural damage in the fuel oil and ballast water tanks. The waterfront repair team completed the waterborne repair phase on April 1, 2009 and the dry dock repair phase on May 12, 2009 and returned USS New Orleans to deployment.