Updated 11 July 2017 at 2030
YOKOSUKA, Japan – The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Fitzgerald (DDG 62) entered dry dock July 11 to continue repairs and assess damage sustained from a June 17 collision with a merchant vessel.
Tuesday's evolution began well before sunrise for the Fitzgerald crew and involved small boats from Fleet Activities Yokosuka (FLEACT) Port Operations Department.
"We used two of our yard tugboats and four pusher boats to move Fitzgerald from Berth 12 to the dry dock," said FLEACT Yokosuka's Harbor Movements Officer, Chief Warrant Officer Galo Moreira.
"It usually takes three boats to "push" a DDG into dry dock," said Moreira. "Today we used the additional boat as an extra safety boat to make sure we didn't cause more damage to the Fitz.”
Electrician’s Mate Second Class Muhammad Khan, of Miami was on one of two Valiant-Class tugboats that helped bring USS Fitzgerald back to port following the collision. Khan said he felt good to be a part of helping get Fitzgerald back to the fleet.
“Anytime you are doing something for a greater cause especially our country, our Navy, it feels good,” Khan said. “Seeing the damage up close was sobering. But it was remarkable the work the crew did to save the ship.”
Once FLEACT Yokosuka’s tugboats delivered the ship to Dry Dock #4 it was the responsibility of Yokosuka’s Ship Repair Facility-Joint Region Maintenance Center (SRF-JRMC) professionals to get the ship lined up correctly in the dry dock and start pumping out the water from the dock. Lt. David Reinhardt, SRF-JRMC’s Docking Officer oversaw the entire process.
“Usually we can dock a ship in about seven hours,” said Reinhardt. “Once the dock is dry, myself and the dockmaster and shop workers will go down and make sure that there is no abnormalities that we didn’t expect. The ship’s force will also do an inspection of the hull to make sure there is nothing there that we wouldn’t expect to see.
SRF-JRMC started pumping the water out of the dry dock at 9:30 a.m. said Reinhardt.
The Commanding Officer of SRF-JRMC, Capt. Garrett Farman, said he was proud of the work accomplished by the Port Operations and SRF-JRMC team, Tuesday.
"Thank you to all the Sailors, civilians and Japanese MLC employees who helped dry dock Fitzgerald today," said Capt. Garrett Farman, SRF-JRMC's Commanding Officer. "It is a testament to our partnership and professionalism that this task was handled safely and efficiently. This kind of teamwork demonstrates the excellent work I see everyday here in Japan and SRF."