Severely damaged by fire while docked for a heavy maintenance operation to allow it to embark F-35B planes, the amphibious assault ship USS Bonhomme Richard may not be able to return to sea. According to Admiral Michael Gilday, the head of the US Navy, the fire but also the water used to extinguish it caused extensive damage, with 11 decks out of 14 in a sorry state.
So while it is still possible to repair a ship, the question is whether that would be relevant in the case of the USS Bonhomme Richard, which has 22 years of service on the meter. Especially since the bill promises to be steep. As was the case for the nuclear attack submarine [SNA] USS Miami, also the victim of a fire [of arson, note] in 2012. He had decided to remove it from the inventory of the ‘US Navy, its reconstruction being too expensive.
However, no sooner was the fire on the USS Bonhomme Richard extinguished than another nearly put a spell on the USS Kearsarge, a ship of the same type, then under maintenance at the General Dynamics NASSCO shipyard, in Norfolk [Virginia] on July 17th. According to the explanations given by Naval Sea Systems Command, the fire ignited during welding work on board the vessel, a plastic component having melted.
Fortunately for the US Navy, the incident was quickly brought under control. But this new alert led him to order a halt to all work in progress at the GD NASSCO site in order to verify safety protocols and procedures in case of fire. According to media across the Atlantic, work resumed on July 21.
Only the day before, another fire broke out aboard the aircraft carrier USS John F. Kennedy, then under construction at the Huntington Ingalls Industries shipyard in Newport News [Virginia]. The thick smoke evacuation necessitated the evacuation of all personnel on the ship. Finally, the fire was also quickly put out by the security teams.
« The damage is limited to the compartment where the fire occurred and we are investigating the cause, » said Jennifer Boykin, president of Huntington Ingalls Industries.
As a reminder, the USS John F. Kennedy, the second aircraft carrier of the new Gerald Ford class, was launched in October 2019. The estimated cost of this 100,000-ton vessel is estimated at just over $ 11 billion. It is due for delivery to the US Navy in September 2024.
No doubt the investigation launched following this fire will establish the causes. As is the one currently underway on the USS Bonhomme Richard. Their results should make it possible to know whether these repeated incidents are due to systemic problems or not.
However, the US Navy is not alone in having recently had ships in the grip of fire. This has been the case with the Chinese Navy, with the Type 075 amphibious assault helicopter carrier, and, more recently, the French Navy, with the « Pearl » SNA.