SAN DIEGO (July 13, 2020) A helicopter from Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 3 combats a fire aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD 6). U.S. Navy Photo
By Dan Whitcomb LOS ANGELES, July 16 (Reuters) – Crews have extinguished all known fires aboard a U.S. Navy warship that burned for four days at its mooring in San Diego, a top admiral said on Thursday, but it was still unclear if the Bonhomme Richard could be saved.
Firefighters were combing through the 844-foot-long (257-m) amphibious assault ship to make sure that all flames were out before a formal investigation could begin into the cause of the blaze, Rear Admiral Philip Sobeck told a news briefing at U.S. Naval Base San Diego.
“We do not know the origin of the fire. We do not know the extent of the damage. It is too early to make any predictions or promises of what the future of the ship will be,” said Sobeck, commander of the Navy’s Expeditionary Strike Group Three.
The flames erupted on Sunday morning, followed by at least one large explosion aboard the Bonhomme Richard, which was commissioned in 1998 with a name dating to the U.S. Revolutionary war.
Sobeck said 63 people – 40 sailors and 23 civilians – were treated for minor injuries during the four days of firefighting from land, air and sea that followed, Sobeck said. None were hospitalized.
“The bottom line is every sailor is a firefighter and we certainly proved that,” the admiral said.
The Bonhomme Richard, whose size ranks second in the U.S. Navy fleet to that of an aircraft carrier, sustained severe damage from the flames, leaving the ship listing to the starboard side, its superstructure collapsed and melted.
Sobeck said he believed the ship could be repaired and returned to duty but that the Navy had not yet decided whether to undertake the massive task.
“The Bonhomme Richard has proved its survival. It’s in stable condition all the way through,” he said.
The ship was undergoing repairs at the time the fire broke out, so only about 160 of its 1,000 crew members were aboard and all major munitions had already been removed, Navy officials have said.
The ship marks the third incarnation of the Bonhomme Richard, dating to when France gave a frigate to the United States and the father of its Navy, John Paul Jones, at the time of the Revolutionary War. He named it Bonhomme Richard.
(Reporting by Dan Whitcomb; Editing by Peter Cooney)
CAIRO, March 2 (Reuters) – The Houthi Transport Ministry in Yemen said on Saturday there had been a “glitch” in undersea communication cables in the Red Sea as a result of actions...
by Captain John Konrad (gCaptain) In the current American labor landscape, the stark contrast between the assertive strides of transportation unions and the maritime sector’s unique labor challenges is striking....
By Mikhail Flores MANILA, Dec 2 (Reuters) – Evacuations were under way in the Philippines after a quake of at least magnitude 7.5 struck the southern region of Mindanao on Saturday night,...
December 2, 2023
Total Views: 2164
Why Join the gCaptain Club?
Access exclusive insights, engage in vibrant discussions, and gain perspectives from our CEO.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.