Saturday, April 20, 2024
Saturday, April 20, 2024
The Navy's second Zumwalt-class destroyer Michael Monsoor (DDG-1001) suffered engine damage that has prompted the service to replace that engine before the ship proceeds to San Diego next year, according to an admiral overseeing the ship class.
"Regrettably coming off of her acceptance trial, we found a problem with one of the main turbine engines that drives one of the main generators [and] we're having to change this out," Rear Adm. William Galinis, program executive officer for ships, said during a Navy League event today.
The Navy does not yet know the cause of the damage and won't know until the service conducts a root-cause analysis, he said.
Bath Iron Works is the prime contractor for the Monsoor and Rolls Royce provides the ship's two MT30 Main Turbine Generator Sets.
"The turbine blades -- think of the jet engine on the side of the airplane, the blades that you see -- we actually had some dings, some damage to those turbine blades," Galinis told reporters following the event. "We found that after the sea trial through an [inspection] where you put an optical device inside the turbine to look at" the blades.
Asked whether similar damage occurred on the Zumwalt (DDG-1000), Galinis said the Navy checked and did not find anything.
The service will pay for the removal and repair because the engine is government-furnished equipment, Galinis said.
Following the repairs, the Monsoor is expected in San Diego next year for combat system activation. The Zumwalt is finishing its combat system activation in San Diego right now and is expected back at sea by the end of August, according to Galinis. The Lyndon Johnson (DDG-1002) will start sea trials toward the end of 2019, he said.
Late last year, the Monsoor was forced to return to Bath after experiencing an "equipment failure to a harmonic filter after loss of an induction coil" that prevented the ship from testing propulsion and electrical systems at full power, multiple media outlets reported.