U.S. Navy Ship Catches Fire at Croatian Shipyard

The U.S. 6th Fleet command and control ship USS Mount Whitney (LCC20) is tugged in to the staging area to begin the dry dock process in the Viktor Lenac Shipyard in Rijeka, Croatia, January 19, 2015. U.S. Navy Photo

The U.S. Navy has confirmed that a fire broke out on board USS Mount Whitney (LCC 20) while the ship was in Viktor Lenac Shipyard in Rijeka, Croatia this past Friday, with the extent of damage still unknown.

The Navy said the fire occurred July 31 and lasted about 45 minutes before it was extinguished by the shipboard fire suppression systems and shipyard firefighters. No personnel were injured in the incident.

The cause of fire and extent of damage are under investigation, the Navy said.

USNI News reported that the fire originated in a diesel generator space during testing, according to a Navy official. 

Mount Whitney has been in Viktor Lenac Shipyard since January 2015 undergoing a scheduled maintenance overhaul designed to extend the service life of the ship to 2039. The Navy said previously that the USS Mount Whitney is scheduled to depart the shipyard later this summer.

Mount Whitney is a Blue Ridge-class command and control ship that forward-deployed to Gaeta, Italy and operates with a combined crew of U.S. Navy Sailors and Military Sealift Command civil service mariners. The civilian mariners perform navigation, deck, engineering and supply service operations, while military personnel support communications, weapons systems and security. It is one of only two seaborne Joint Command Platforms in the U.S. Navy.

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