Fitz suffers loading damage

YOKOSUKA NAVAL BASE, Japan - The collision-crippled USS Fitzgerald was forced to return to its homeport of NB Yokosuka on Nov. 26 after suffering further damage while being loaded onto a heavy lift vessel for its global ride to Huntington Ingalls Industries’ Pascagoula, Miss., shipyard for repairs. The destroyer was sent back from a Yokosuka ship repair facility to fix a pair of additional punctures to its hull caused by the heavy lift vessel MV Transshelf while DDG 62 was being loaded for transfer. The Navy estimates repairs will take multiple days before it begins its journal to Ingalls. Some 50 sailors from the crew of 300 will remain aboard as it travels back to the U.S. The Fitzgerald collided with a Philippine-flagged merchant ship on June 17. The accident killed seven sailors and injured three. The ship’s two senior officers and a senior enlisted were relieved of duty. (Source: Stars and Stripes 11/26/17)