There is more bad news for the Norfolk-based USS San Antonio as the US Navy reveals that the
San Antonio's planned deployment has been cancelled until such time as the ship is deemed to be operationally sound.
One of the Navy's most trouble-plagued ships, the San Antonio, won't deploy next year as planned, a four-star admiral announced Thursday.
Adm. John C. Harvey Jr., head of the Norfolk-based Fleet Forces Command, said the Mesa Verde, another amphibious transport dock ship, will deploy next summer in place of the San Antonio.
The first ship of its class, the San Antonio has been beset with problems since its commissioning more than four years ago. It cost more than $1.4 billion, 70 percent more than originally budgeted, and came in two years late.
In 2007, the ship failed to complete its scheduled sea trials after one of its two steering systems failed.
Its first deployment, in August 2008, was temporarily delayed when its stern gate had problems that would have affected the loading and deployment of landing craft. Two months into the cruise, the San Antonio was forced to make an unplanned maintenance stop in Bahrain to deal with leaks in its lube oil piping system. The next flaw affected its four diesel engines: Crew members discovered bits of metal embedded in the bearings that contaminated the oil and caused the engines to fail.
The repair bill for the latest fixes will top $39 million, the Navy has said. An internal investigation completed this summer found both the shipbuilder - Northrop Grumman in Avondale, La. - and the Navy at fault for not catching problems earlier.
By: Shelldrake
There is more bad news for the Norfolk-based USS San Antonio as the US Navy reveals that the San Antonio's planned deployment has been cancelled until such time as the ship is deemed to be operationally sound.
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