Delivered in 2011, National Security Cutter has holes, rust

Delivered to the Coast Guard by Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. (NYSE: HII) Ingalls Shipbuilding Division in September 2011, the third National Security Cutter, Stratton, has holes in the hull that will require it to be drydocked for permanent repairs.

An AP report report says that the ship’s commander, Capt. Charles Cashin, called in engineers last month when his crew discovered a trio of “pinholes” and a fourth hole “slightly smaller than a golf ball” in the ship’s hull. There are also “spots of rust” on the hull.

The holes have been patched for now and Captain Cashin reportedly says the Stratton is seaworthy and that he is “very confident in the safety of the ship and the crew.”

Read the AP story HERE

May 9, 2012