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Zumwalt sidelined in Panama by engineering casualty

Written by Nick Blenkey
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Russian government controlled media outlet RTAmerica posted YouTube video showing Zumwalt alongside at former U.S. Naval Station Rodman

NOVEMBER 23, 2016 —The first in class stealth destroyer USS Zumwalt (DDG-1000) is reportedly pier side at a former U.S. Navy facility in Panama.

The U.S. Navai Institute reports that the ship suffered an engineering casualty while transiting the Panama Canal on route to her new homeport in San Diego.

USNI News quotes a defense official as saying that the ship lost propulsion in its port shaft during the transit and the crew saw water intrusion in two of the four bearings that connect to Zumwalt’s port and starboard Advanced Induction Motors (AIMs).

USNI News says the guided missile destroyer will undergo repairs at the former U.S. Naval Station Rodman until it is fit to complete its journey to Naval Station San Diego.

Both of the shafts locked during the passage and the transit had to be completed with tugs. The ship made minor contact with lock walls in the canal resulting in minor cosmetic damage. Following the transit, the Navy determined the ship couldn’t continue to its new homeport at Naval Station San Diego without additional repairs.

The Zumwalt suffered a casualty in September after the crew discovered a seawater leak in the propulsion motor drive lube oil auxiliary system for one of the ship’s shafts (see earlier story).

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