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San Antonio underway after repairs in Bahrain

NORFOLK, Va. — Nearly a month after limping into Bahrain with extensive seepage from the lube oil system for its main propulsion diesel engines, the amphibious transport dock San Antonio got back underway Tuesday.

“Repairs have corrected all deficiencies and the lube oil system has returned to fully operational status,” said Pat Dolan, spokeswoman for Naval Sea Systems Command. “The oil leaks were attributed to inadequate pipe supports, poor welding, material selection and insufficient [quality assurance].”

Dolan said a “root-cause analysis” is ongoing, and some technicians from the original team of more than 30 who met the ship in Bahrain on Oct. 31 remain aboard.

She said the repair job costs are about $1.4 million.

San Antonio’s 25-day pit stop began about two months into its maiden deployment. The ship left Norfolk late August with the Iwo Jima Expeditionary Strike Group.

While lauded for its design, the first ship of the class has been the subject of criticism for arriving to the fleet late, incomplete and $1 billion over budget, at $1.8 billion. The ship’s deployment was delayed two days due to a broken stern gate.

On Monday, Navy Secretary Donald Winter visited the ship in Bahrain before it restarted its deployment, taking time to personally examine the repair work. He has taken a personal interest in the San Antonio’s troubled debut in the fleet, and has publicly criticized Northrop Grumman for the ship’s condition when it was delivered incomplete to the Navy.

In the aftermath of LPD 17’s breakdown, inspectors from NavSea, Naval Surface Force and regional maintenance commands have gone aboard the follow-on ships in the class — New Orleans, Mesa Verde, Green Bay and New York — to inspect welds in the lube oil systems. Engineers did not find systemic problems, but they did find faulty welds, according to sources.

Dolan said those class-wide reviews are ongoing.