出糗 美超級新戰艦海上癱瘓○聯合(2015.12.15)

【Comment】

因「燃油過濾器突然因吸入不明碎片」？若非出廠時沒檢查完全，就是有人偷放進去。要查明。

在查明之前，更換人員是必須的。

當然，一出Halifax就掛了，顯然，加油設施也要清查。

就美國軍備設計的可靠度而言，此事不應發生，非比尋常。已經引起國會注意。

美國有個優點，會找出真正的原因，避免再度發生。而不是抓個人槍斃，以及給個「說法」。

本次航程從加拿大哈利法克斯(Halifax)到佛羅里達？那邊有個Naval Air Station Halifax。這是美國人在一次大戰前建立的水上飛機基地，隸屬於加拿大皇家空軍，也可停靠海軍艦艇。經過多次演變，成為加拿大三軍基地(Canadian Forces Base Shearwater)。

這關係，有趣！

有注意到「The ship is currently manned by Crew 104, and was scheduled to swap with Crew 108 in Mayport.  The crews will now swap in Virginia while the ship’s system is repaired.」？？

這就是美國海軍最厲害的力方。

出糗 美超級新戰艦海上癱瘓○聯合(2015.12.15)

在三周前才風光成軍的海軍最先進濱海作戰艦「密爾瓦基號」（USS Milwaukee），在尚未接受實戰考驗，以展現優異戰力之際，日前卻在海上發生離譜的重大故障，因失去動力而在海上漂流。最後由救難艦緊急馳援，才拖回維吉尼亞州軍港檢修。

海軍時報報導，密爾瓦基號是由加拿大哈利法克斯(Halifax)駛往佛羅里達州五月港(Mayport)時，在維州外海發生主機故障。該艦最後被救難艦從離岸40海里外，拖至維州小溪(Little Creek)「聯合遠征基地」(Joint Expeditionary Base)。

海軍表示，密爾瓦基號在航行期間，燃油過濾器突然因吸入不明碎片，才導致動力系統完全停擺。然而，專家指出，剛出廠的新型軍艦都經過一連串的測試和驗收，卻仍發生燃油過濾器吸到碎片的罕見問題，實在令人難以置信。

軍方表示，密爾瓦基號這次航行並非執行返回母港的航行任務，但該艦在停泊維州軍港檢修動力系統期間，也將進行人員更換作業。

密爾瓦基號是在11月21日於加州聖地牙哥的母港，舉行成軍典禮後正式加入海軍艦隊的戰鬥序列，艦上編制98名官兵。當時該艦長哈尼(Mark Haney)還驕傲地聲稱，該艦官兵「是真正的勢不可擋」，無論有任何阻撓，均將克敵制勝。

密爾瓦基號屬於海軍新一代的「自由級」濱海作戰艦，該型艦的作戰需求主要針對近岸水域的作戰，因此可在淺水海域高速航行。該艦排水量3400噸，吃水13.5呎，艦身長389呎，最高航速45節。

The Navy’s newest ship breaks down, limps into port○Navy Times(2015.12.12)

ABOARD THE LITTORAL COMBAT SHIP MILWAUKEE, VIRGINIA CAPES – The littoral combat ship Milwaukee, the Navy’s newest ship, broke down Dec. 11 and had to be towed more than 40 nautical miles to Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek, Virginia.

The ship suffered an engineering casualty while transiting from Halifax, Canada, to Mayport, Florida, and ultimately its home port of San Diego.  The cause is being evaluated by ship’s crew and technical consultants.

Initial indications are that fine metal debris collected in the lube oil filter caused the system to shut down, according to a Navy statement provided to Navy Times.  The cause of the metal debris in the lube oil system is not known and assessments are ongoing.

The ship was commissioned Nov. 21 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and has been making the long trek to San Diego through the Great Lakes since.

Problems with the propulsion plant began almost as soon as Milwaukee got underway from Halifax.  The ship’s computer system triggered an alarm and the ship called away an engineering casualty.

Engineers cleaned out the metal filings from the lube oil filter and locked the port shaft as a precaution.  In the early hours of Friday morning, the ship was conducting steering tests and lost lube oil pressure in the starboard combining gear due to the presence of the same metal filings in that filter.

The metal filings in the lube oil have not been a class-wide issue, according to the Navy.

The ship then dropped anchor while the engineers worked on the system.  By mid-morning, the salvage ship Grapple rendezvoused with Milwaukee and connected a towing hawser line for the trip back to Little Creek.

The ship is currently manned by Crew 104, and was scheduled to swap with Crew 108 in Mayport.  The crews will now swap in Virginia while the ship’s system is repaired.

News of the breakdown reached Capitol Hill by late Friday.  Sen. John McCain, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said in a statement to Navy Times that the plant issues were troubling and called for accountability.

“Reporting of a complete loss of propulsion on USS Milwaukee (LCS 5) is deeply alarming, particularly given this ship was commissioned just 20 days ago,” McCain said.  “U.S. Navy ships are built with redundant systems to enable continued operation in the event of an engineering casualty, which makes this incident very concerning.

“I expect the Navy to conduct a thorough investigation into the root causes of this failure, hold individuals accountable as appropriate, and keep the Senate Armed Services Committee informed.”