Another crack in the hull of the USS Montgomery

[TexasTowelie]

The USS Montgomery's already rough journey to home port just got rougher.

Less than one month after an encounter with a tug boat cracked the ship's hull, the $360 million littoral combat ship (LCS 8) again split its aluminum side, this time while trying to maneuver its 104-foot-wide frame through the 105-foot-wide Panama Canal.

The USS Montgomery suffered the latest crack on Oct. 29, but the crack is above sea level and will not affect the ship's journey to home port in San Diego, according to a statement from the Navy

"On Oct. 29, USS Montgomery (LCS 8) sustained damage to her hull while transiting southbound through the Gatun and Pedro Miguel locks of the Panama Canal. Under control of the local Panama Canal Pilot, the ship impacted the center lock wall and sustained an 18-inch-long crack between her port quarter and transom plates. The crack is located 8-10 feet above the waterline and poses no water intrusion or stability risk," said the statement.

Read more: http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/story/news/2016/11/03/another-crack-hull-uss-montgomery/93252326/

[Spitfire of ATJ]

1. Another waste of money that must be worshiped.

[nikto]

2. Here's a better link without all the popups

I got a cluster of popups that made that site hard to read on my 'puter.

Here's a better site for the info:

http://www.maritime-executive.com/article/uss-montgomery-suffers-a-second-hull-crack

[nikto]

3. Those things cost $475.7 million EACH!!

[nitpicker]

4. The USNI take on the incidents

https://news.usni.org/2016/10/31/uss-montgomery-damaged-transiting

[lastlib]

5. What IDJIT made a ship's hull out of ALUMINIM??!?

Last edited Fri Nov 4, 2016, 09:24 PM - Edit history (1)

FerF*ck'sSake, aluminum is a very brittle metal. It takes very little to crack it.

[Bohunk68]

6. I was in the US Navy in the early 60's and

one of my ships was the USS MacDonough DLG-8. It had an aluminum hull and superstructure. Was in service for many years.

[Angleae]

9. They do it to save weight.

Less weight = less fuel needed.

[4bucksagallon]

7. I already see the problem, the ship wasn't built in Bath Iron Works but in Alabama.

Montgomery was launched from Austal USA's shipyards in Mobile, Alabama on 6 August 2014.[4] Montgomery was christened on 8 November 2014.[2] The ship was commissioned on 10 September 2016 in Mobile, Alabama.[3] The commanding officer is Commander Daniel G. Straub.

On 13 September 2016, Montgomery experienced two unrelated casualties within a 24-hour period while transiting from Mobile, Alabama to her homeport of San Diego, CA. The first casualty happened when the crew detected a seawater leak in the hydraulic cooling system. Later that day, Montgomery experienced a casualty to one of its gas turbine engines.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Montgomery_(LCS-8)
Yep that's the problem, because Bath is the best shipyard in the USA bar none...

[TexasTowelie]

8. Yes and the Bath Iron Works shipyard

lost a multi-billion dollar contract a couple of months ago due to a lower bid. I wouldn't want to be a sailor on the ship of built by the lowest bidder.