Update 2/20/2009: A link to a photo of the USS Port Royal in drydock can be found in this posting.
The USS Port Royal is stuck on a reef near Honolulu International Airport. They tried unsuccessfully to nudge it free with some tugs early yesterday. Here is the story from the Honolulu Advertiser.
The USS Port Royal is stuck on a reef near Honolulu International Airport. They tried unsuccessfully to nudge it free with some tugs early yesterday. Here is the story from the Honolulu Advertiser.
They have a few pretty interesting shots of the ship in the video. The news station was told by family members of the crew that the ship has no air conditioning or electricity. Looks like a pretty miserable situation.
Update: 5 p.m.: The navy is going to lighten the ship by offloading fuel, water, and people and then they will try to free it again. If you have any first hand knowledge about the Port Royal, or just like to talk, feel free to leave a comment.
AP Update
Update: 2/8/09 1 p.m.: After offloading some fuel, water, and people and using more towing power than they used before, the third attempt to free the USS Port Royal was unsuccessful. The navy is assessing options. I think it will be a while before they get the ship off the rocks.
From U.S. Navy Public Affairs on KGMB 9
Update: 2/9/09 9:10 a.m.: Looks like the fourth time was a charm. I just read that the USS Port Royal was freed this morning. I guess there will be some damage assessment and probably another drydock period in the immediate future.
From AP
Update 2/9/09 12:00 p.m.: I just read that the ship is now back in Pearl harbor. It took a total of seven tugs, a salvage ship, and a motor vessel to free it. I didn't know what the heck a motor vessel was until I saw it referenced as the Motor Vessel "Dove" which is used to move the sea based X-band radar platform. For those of you who have seen it, it is the giant white ball that you can occasionally glimpse from Pearl Harbor and the surrounding area. It looks kind of like a giant white Epcot Center. This is a picture of the radar being moved into Pearl Harbor. (This is not the Motor Vessel "Dove" in the picture, though. I couldn't find a good picture of that, but I am guessing it has some pretty serious towing power)
Credit for this Photo: Missile Defense Agency
Credit for this Photo: Missile Defense Agency
Credit for this Photo: Missile Defense Agency
4 comments:
Back in the day, we were in and out of that port fifty times, it seems.
Pearl Harbor has a lot of landmarks to navigate from. The CO, XO, and Nav team are going to hang.
Plus, we have a 33 foot draft ship in less than 20 feet of water. They'll have to offload everything and get a fleet of tugs to get her out.
Put yourself in the place of the Navigator. How do you go to the CO and say I screwed up?
My husband is on the ship. They are all safe and fine. Conditions are not great but they are next to the shore so if needed they have help. They are removing some crew,fuel, etc today. My husband is one of the lucky ones who is staying onboard. It's a messy situation all around. The Capt of the ship is a great guy and this is a sad thing to have happen under his watch.
I sincerely hope that they get the ship safely afloat again soon. I read that they were going to try to free the ship very early this morning, but I have not seen anything saying whether or not they were successful. Hopefully your husband can get home soon.
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