PASCAGOULA, Miss. – The guided-missile destroyer USS Fitzgerald (DDG 62) departed from Huntington Ingalls Industries' (HII) Ingalls Shipbuilding here June 13 to return to its San Diego homeport. The sail-away reflects more than two years of restoring and modernizing the warship after it was damaged in a collision in 2017 that claimed the lives of seven sailors. "(T)he 'Fighting Fitz’ is returning to the Pacific Fleet … marking a significant step in her return to war-fighting readiness,” said Rear Adm. Eric Ver Hage, director of the Surface Ship Maintenance and Modernization command and commander of the Navy Regional Maintenance Center. HII-Pascagoula restored impacted spaces and operations to full functionality. Due to the extent of the restoration, both repair and new construction procedures were used to accomplish the job. The Fitzgerald crew completed multiple training and certification events in preparation of getting the ship back underway as it returns to San Diego. “My thanks go out to everyone involved in making sure the ship is ready, and I’m especially proud of my crew's hard work ensuring we are trained and prepared to take our ship back to sea,” said Cmdr. Scott Wilbur, commanding officer of Fitzgerald. (Source: HII-Pascagoula 06/13/20)
Shipbuilding and maritime related news from the Central Gulf Coast region
