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Pearl Harbor Shipyard Maintains RIMPAC Ships

Navy NewsStand

Story Number: NNS100715-13
7/15/2010

From Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard Public Affairs

PEARL HARBOR (NNS) -- Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility (PHNSY/IMF) workers have completed more than 80 ship maintenance jobs as of July 15 on U.S. and foreign vessels participating in the Rim of the Pacific 2010 (RIMPAC) exercise, which lasts from June 23 to Aug. 1.

The 22nd biennial RIMPAC event – the largest maritime exercise in the world – is being held in Hawaiian waters.

Fourteen nations are participating in RIMPAC 2010, including Australia, Canada, Chile, Colombia, France, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Netherlands, Peru, Republic of Korea, Singapore, Thailand and the United States. The exercise involves 32 ships, five submarines and more than 170 aircraft and 20,000 international military personnel in an effort to strengthen relationships between the countries' naval forces.

"We started preparing for RIMPAC several months ago," said Capt. Lynn Hampton, PHNSY/IMF Industry Management department head. "One of the most effective things we did was develop a supporting organization that dedicated four of our seven maintenance teams to RIMPAC. This allowed us to continue to provide repair support to our homeported ships while providing the necessary support to the visiting ships."

Many of the ships required technical assistance, while other ships needed deck-plate-level repairs, said Hampton.

Significant work on domestic ships included a motor removal and other maintenance aboard USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD 6), gas turbine generator replacement aboard USS Chancellorsville (CG 62) and troubleshooting assistance aboard USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76), as well as main feed and condensate pump repairs and a ship steam turbine generator repair on USS Cleveland (LPD 7).

Capt. Timothy Wilson, commander, Amphibious Squadron 7, thanked Hampton, his team and PHNSY/IMF for providing "top-quality support to (the) Cleveland over the Fourth of July holiday weekend."

Wilson specifically thanked Port Engineer Richard Tudor and Senior Chief Electronic Technician Victoria Marino, ship superintendent, "for their tireless work finding the right person for the right job, as well as their superb coordination of all repairs."

PHNSY/IMF's support was not limited to pierside work in the harbor. Maintenance teams were routinely flown out by helicopter to ships such as Ronald Reagan and USS Comstock (LSD 45).

Work on foreign ships included maintenance on the Japanese JS Akebono (DD 108) and a gas turbine main engine replacement on the Australian frigate HMAS Newcastle (FFG 6), which upon routine inspection revealed catastrophic damage to the starboard main engine. A new engine was needed to enable Newcastle to participate in a missile exercise, according to Newcastle Marine Engineering Officer Lt. Cmdr. Macinty Winner.

A spare engine was flown in from Brisbane, Australia, and PHNSY/IMF gas turbine system technicians performed a successful replacement. The job was especially challenging because of Australian adaptations to shipyard guide railings for installing and removing the engines.

"The shipyard has been extremely willing to help out anyway they can – very efficient with a big emphasis on safety," said Winner. "There were no issues whatsoever; they were professional."

Shipyard workers assigned to assist Newcastle alternated between two shifts throughout a five-day period to complete the replacement.

Newcastle Commanding Officer Cmdr. Justin Jones watched the evolution from the deck and expressed his gratitude to PHNSY/IMF.

"The shipyard has been fantastic in supporting our RIMPAC mission," said Jones.

PHNSY/IMF is a full-service naval shipyard and regional maintenance center for the U.S. Navy's surface ships and submarines. It is the largest industrial employer in the state of Hawaii with a combined civilian and military workforce of about 4,800. It has an operating budget of $563 million and infuses $700 million a year into the local economy.