The damaged Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer USS Fitzgerald has arrived in Pascagoula, Mississippi onboard the Dockwise heavy lift vessel, Transshelf.
Fitzgerald is expected to spend several days in the port of Pascagoula while it is unfastened, lowered and guided off of the semi-submersible heavy lift vessel.
The destroyer will then be taken to its designated pier space at Huntington Ingalls Industries shipyard.
Due to the extent and complexity of the restoration of the vessel, which was involved in a collision with the Philippine-flagged ACX Crystal in June 2017, both repair and new construction procedures will be used to accomplish the restoration and modernisation efforts.
The USS Fitzgerald was loaded onboard Dockwise's Transshelf at the US naval base in Yokosuka, Japan.
During the loading process the destroyer suffered further damage to its hull, caused by the Transshelf's steel support structure, forcing it to return to the US naval base for further repairs, as HLPFI reported here.
Work on the ship is expected to last into mid-2019, followed by an extensive test and trial period.
