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On August 8th, the US Navy began work on repairing the USS BonHomme Richard, and the first thing it did was to remove its aft mast.
A fire in July greatly affected the superstructure area of the amphibious assault ship.
“Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) is commencing work to remove the aft mast aboard USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD-6). The fire compromised the structural integrity of the aft mast, located above the ship’s superstructure. Although damage assessments are ongoing, the Navy made the decision, out of an abundance of caution, to move forward with removal, which will be facilitated using two cranes on floating barges located alongside the ship,” Navy spokesman Lt. Ryan Slattery said.
Prep work on antennas and sensors located on the mast already took place on August 1st and 2nd, and the mast itself is being removed. Additional assessments will determine what work would be required to similarly remove the forward mast.
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Images taken during the firefighting effort on the ship show extensive damage to the superstructure, with the fire burning holes right through parts of the island. The forward mast was seen collapsed.
“The superstructure and the upper decks continue to burn and sustain damage, and the forward mast has collapsed,” Rear Adm. Philip Sobeck, the Expeditionary Strike Group 3 commander said.
Slattery said the Navy owns one of the cranes that will be used in the removal process and contracted for the second one.
The service “modified an existing LHD-6 salvage/firefighting delivery order to SMIT AMERICAS to cut, rig, remove and dispose of the aft mast. The delivery order was issued as part of NAVSEA’s existing Emergency Salvage Services contract for the West Coast,” he said.
The Navy awarded General Dynamics NASSCO $10 million for fire-related cleanup. NASSCO was already on contract to do maintenance on the ship prior to the fire.
It is still unclear how much work the warship will need, as the footage during and after the fire showed that the ship was almost entirely destroyed.
“Damage assessments are ongoing. Due to the size of the ship and extent of the damage, the initial assessments are expected to take several weeks to complete. The team’s findings will allow the Navy to make informed decisions regarding Bonhomme Richard’s future,” he said.
“The current work scope is limited to removal of the aft mast, and is being conducted out of an abundance of caution following structural analysis by NAVSEA. Any additional work that will be required will be fully assessed.”
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hahaha some more pissed off Hispanics will set it on fire again.
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Its a wet dream it cant be repaired. The heat and extensive damage has compromized jts structural integrity. You can make it float but but thats it. I guess its “good enough” for them.
No vessel can compete with the mighty Admiral Kuznetsov
Indeed.
GREAT NEWS !! Throwing money at hopeless problem!!! To repair irreparable ship !!
The mast has to be removed in order to complete the damage assessment. There is not enough information yet to know that the ship is reparable.
Was a proper assessment done on the damage from prolonged heat exposure? I find it difficult to believe the hull is still seaworthy. In the event that it’s still seaworthy, is it still economical to fix it? Sometimes it’s cheaper to build a new one.
Safety hats with rank insignia… How impressive…