After serious leaks in oil pipes sidetracked the first deployment of the San Antonio, the Navy is inspecting the other amphibious ships in the new class for similar problems, a spokeswoman said Monday.
Navy engineers are scrutinizing the New Orleans, Mesa Verde and Green Bay for lubrication oil leaks that posed a threat to sailors aboard the Norfolk-based San Antonio, said Pat Dolan, spokeswoman for Naval Sea Systems Command in Washington.
The Mesa Verde, also from Norfolk, is already in a local shipyard for previously scheduled maintenance.
The San Antonio, a landing platform dock ship that can carry 700 Marines, faces two more weeks of repairs in Bahrain, Dolan said.
The Navy sent about 40 engineers and workers from Norfolk Naval Shipyard to repair the vessel, she said.
The oil leaks sprang open in the forward and aft main machinery rooms, Dolan said. The two separate incidents spilled flammable oil and caused a hazard for sailors, she said.
The San Antonio will continue its deployment in the Middle East, which began in August, when repairs are completed, she said.
Louis Hansen, (757) 446-2322, louis.hansen@pilotonline.com
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While the Naval Sea Systems Command twiddles their thumbs
pirates are hijacking super tankers with the oil we need to run our country. It's a great Navy, isn't it?
Politics and $$ first!
Quality, product and the well being of the crew second.
I knew it...
Hate to say, "I told you so" on a subject as important as this, but the San Antonio's experience exactly mirrors my own experience on Avondale-built vessels. My comment from last December:
http://hamptonroads.com/2007/12/crew-troubled-ship-finally-claims-success#comment-579823
"Anyone who's ever had the misfortune of serving on a ship that came out of that yard knows they're incapable of producing a quality product. Have they ever built a ship that was either on time, under budget, or worked as expected?
The last ship I served on came from Avondale (now Northrop Grumman), and I wouldn't trust them to assemble a kid's bicycle for Christmas.
San Antonio sailors, you've got your work cut out for you. You'll be finding little gems for years down the road, and every time you pull into a "real" shipyard for repairs, the workers are going to wonder how on earth the shoddy workmanship from Avondale ever made it out of the drydock."