Repairs delay Bonhomme Richard deployment

[Boats]

Navy Times reports that - Repairs delay Bonhomme Richard deployment

Other ships in ARG scheduled to depart on time
By Gidget Fuentes - Staff writer
Posted : Friday Sep 18, 2009 10:42:40 EDT

SAN DIEGO — Problems with its steam service turbine generators are delaying Friday’s planned deployment of amphibious assault ship Bonhomme Richard, Navy officials confirmed late Wednesday.

Maintenance crews were determining the repairs needed so Bonhomme Richard, carrying nearly 3,000 Marines and sailors, can begin its scheduled deployment to the Western Pacific and Persian Gulf regions. The turbine generators convert steam into electricity, which in turn feeds energy into the ship’s power supply.

“The ship received an inspection advisory for the ship’s service turbine generators,” said Cmdr. Greg Hicks, a U.S. 3rd Fleet spokesman in San Diego. “Issues were discovered that are best corrected pierside before commencing deployment.”

Hicks couldn’t provide details about what troubles surfaced on the big-deck ship, which was two days away from leaving its berth at San Diego Naval Base carrying the bulk of the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit on the scheduled deployment. Officials attributed the delay to an “emergent engineering maintenance issue” and didn’t yet know when the ship would deploy.

“The length of the delay is still being determined as repair estimates are assessed,” Hicks said, adding, “This delay is not expected to have any significant impact on the BHR ARG meeting its overall mission requirements.”

The three-ship ready group includes 2,100 Marines and sailors with the Camp Pendleton-based 11th MEU. The amphibious transport dock Cleveland and dock landing ship Rushmore will leave as scheduled Friday morning, officials said.

Bonhomme Richard, with its large flight and hangar decks and a crew of about 1,000, carries the MEU’s utility, attack and cargo helicopters and a six-plane detachment of AV-8B Harrier attack jets, along with combat vehicles and Navy landing craft.

The deployment would be the sixth major operational deployment for Bonhomme Richard, a 840-foot, Wasp-class assault ship commissioned in 1998.

Navy Capt. Rodney Clark, Amphibious Squadron 7 commander in San Diego, will lead the ready group, which includes 4,500 Marines and sailors along with Tactical Air Control Squadron 12’s Detachment 1; Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 23’s Detachment 3; Assault Craft Unit 1’s Detachment B; ACU-5’s Detachment F; Beachmaster Unit 1’s Detachment B; and Fleet Surgical Team 9.

Col. Gregg Olson commands the 2,100-member 11th MEU, which includes Battalion Landing Team 2/4, Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 166 (Reinforced) and Combat Logistics Battalion 11.