Repairing US Destroyer John S McCain to Cost $233 Million

Repairing USS John S McCain, the destroyer damaged in a collision with a tanker vessel near Singapore in August is expected to cost $233 million with the repair work being done in Japan.

“Damage assessments conducted while the ship was moored in Singapore since the Aug. 21 collision revealed the scope of work could be completed in Japan at the lowest estimated cost and returns the ship to full service at the earliest opportunity,” read a statement from U.S. Pacific Fleet provided to USNI News. “Repairing the ship in Yokosuka, where it is already part of the Forward Deployed Naval Forces (FDNF) assigned to U.S. Seventh Fleet, also provides stability and continuity to crew members and their families”. 

According to a Navy cost estimate of the repairs obtained by USNI News, fixing McCain will cost about $223 million and take about a year. The Navy is preparing the ship to be transported from Singapore to Yokosuka via a heavy-lift transport by the end of the month.

"Over the next few days, John S. McCain will be towed to deep water, where the heavy lift vessel will lower itself, secure the ship on a platform and then raise back up out of the water. After the process of loading the ship is complete, Treasure will transport John S. McCain to Fleet Activities Yokosuka, where the forward deployed ship will be repaired," the US 7th Fleet said in a statement Thursday.

“In addition to supporting repairs to the ship, the crew will focus on training, readiness and certifications to prepare the ship for operational tasking in Seventh Fleet,” the statement says.

McCain suffered a collision from the tanker Alnic MC in which the tanker’s bulbous bow struck the port side of the ship, causing extensive flooding below the waterline that resulted in the death of 10 sailors. An investigation is underway to determine the facts and circumstances of the collision.

The McCain is the second US guided-missile destroyer to be involved in a collision in two months. In June, the USS Fitzgerald collided with a Philippines container ship off the coast of Japan, killing seven navy sailors.

The USS John S McCain is ballistic missile defence (BMD) capable ship and part of the same Japan-based destroyer squadron.