The U.S. Navy's newest ship, the USS Milwaukee, had to be towed more than 40 nautical miles into port Friday after it broke down a mere three weeks after it was commissioned in Milwaukee on Nov. 21. The Milwaukee, a Freedom-class LCS (littoral combat ship), is one of the Navy's most advanced ships to date, reported The Fiscal Times. It's designed to be able to maneuver quickly in shallow coastal waters so that the Navy would be able to quickly respond to sudden and unconventional threats.
The $360-million ship had been in Halifax, Nova Scotia, where the intention was to eventually have it reach San Diego, Calif., where its home port is located. The latest leg of its journey was to travel to Mayport, Fla., when it suffered a "complete loss of propulsion" causing it to be stranded in the middle of open waters.
Specifically, an unidentified source said the loss of propulsion was due to "fine metal debris collected in the lube oil filter," which caused the system to shut down, reported the Navy Times. However, an official statement from the Navy indicates that it's still unclear how the metal debris got there to begin with.
The ship dropped anchor and after waiting a little while, it rendezvous with the salvage ship Grapple, which towed it 40 nautical miles (46 miles) to Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek, Va.
News of the incident reached Capitol Hill, sparking an angry statement from Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), head of the Senate Armed Service Committee, who said the incident was "troubling and called for accountability," according to the Examiner.
"Reporting of a complete loss of propulsion on USS Milwaukee is deeply alarming, particularly given this ship was commissioned just 20 days ago," McCain said in a statement. "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," McCain added.
