The command ship of the US Sixth Fleet returns to the Croatian shipyard.
After more than 30 million dollars worth of overhaul works that were performed at the Viktor Lenac shipyard in Rijeka six months ago, USS Mount Whitney, the command ship of the US Sixth Fleet, has again entered this Kvarner shipyard where it will remain, if everything goes according to schedule, until 10 April, reports Novi List on March 28, 2016.
According to Robert Škifić, the general manager of the shipyard, the reason for the new visit by the American warship is a scheduled and pre-planned smaller overhaul that needs to be done on generators and the equipment that has been installed last year.
The shipyard was informed late last year while it was finishing the extensive overhaul works, that Americans plan to do a smaller overhaul of the USS Mount Whitney this March. Earlier this year, Americans announced a tender for the job. Among six European shipyards which have competed for the job, Viktor Lenac once again prevailed. This time, all the works on the USS Mount Whitney will be carried out while the ship is at berth, with the entire crew of about 300 US marines living on it.
The command ship of the US Sixth Fleet has entered a five-year program of upgrading which the US Navy wants to use to further increase the operational capacity of the warship and prolong its service for the next 25 years, until 2039. USS Mount Whitney has been in service since 1971.
After the last year’s large-scale overhaul on the ship, which lasted for eight months and brought Viktor Lenac shipyard more than 200 million kunas, without taking into account the sophisticated equipment that was installed on the warship, Americans are planning additional extensive works on the ship for the next year. Viktor Lenac has already announced it would compete at that tender as well. The US Navy should make its decision about where the next year’s overhaul will be performed in September.
