Truman Completes Anchor Installation
Navy News Service
Story Number: NNS120118-04
1/18/2012
By Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Leona Mynes, USS Harry S. Truman Public Affairs
PORTSMOUTH, Va. (NNS) -- The deck department aboard Nimitz-class nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) installed two 30-ton anchors Jan. 10, bringing Truman closer to completing its docking planned incremental availability (DPIA) at Norfolk Naval Shipyard (NNSY).
Deck department detached the anchors and anchor chains when Truman began DPIA, and the links were refurbished and repainted.
The evolution was completed flawlessly, said Boatswain's Mate 2nd Class Shawn Pankratz, leading petty officer of deck department's first division.
"Lifting 30 tons - 60,000 pounds - of steel like that, even the smallest misstep could put someone in danger," said Pankratz. "We took every precaution and the installation went smoothly and safely."
Approximately 40 Sailors assigned to deck department with the support of NNSY workers re-attached the anchors and more than 2,100 feet of chain in a period of less than three weeks. Each of the more than 1,200 links weighs 365 pounds.
"About every 12 years, aircraft carriers do a full anchor and anchor chain overhaul," said Chief Boatswain's Mate Jonathan Hall, deck department's leading chief petty officer. "When we removed the anchors and chains, we actually removed the chain from the locker and detached the shackle. It's a very important step for deck department."
"Now that the anchors and chains are back in the forecastle of the ship, deck department is almost ready to return to sea," said Hall.
Truman is undergoing DPIA at NNSY to conduct maintenance and refurbish shipboard systems. Truman is expected to return to the fleet this summer.
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