On November 6, we relayed reports that USS San Antonio (LPD-17) was broken and in port for repairs. More than two weeks later, the vessel is still marooned at Bahrain. The clock is ticking.
To get an idea of how serious this is--and spark some consideration of how badly we've let our organic salvage/repair facilities decay--the Springboard decided to compare how long some ships that were DAMAGED IN BATTLE had to stay in Gulf shipyards:
"About a month": USS Tripoli (LPH-10) Damaged by a mine in 1991. According to the August 8, 1991 San Diego Tribune, repairs in Bahrain took "about a month."
Five Weeks: USS Princeton (CG-59) Damaged by mines in 1991: According to the mighty wiki:
Repairs in the Mina Jebel Ali near Dubai took five weeks, performed by the Destroyer Tender on duty: The USS ACADIA (AD-42) after which, the Princeton returned to the United States under her own power for additional repairs.To be charitable, the cruiser did spend a few extra weeks in Bahrain.
Five and a half Weeks: USS Stark (FFG-31) Hit by two Exocet missiles, with 37 deaths. Attack took place on May 17, 1987, and by June 25, the AP reported the repairs were complete and the vessel was sailing under it's own power.
Ten Weeks: USS Samuel B. Roberts (FFG-58): Mine damage. Attack took place on April 14, 1988 and trip home on Mighty Servant 2 began on June 25.
The idea that lube oil dysfunction in a brand-new ship has taken almost as long to repair as mine damage should give everybody a long and hard pause.
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