Fire at sea prevents historic Hawaii meeting of carriersBy William Cole
The Navy had planned a historic and dramatic meeting of the aircraft carriers Kitty Hawk and George Washington in Pearl Harbor this coming Sunday.
Unfortunately, it isn't happening.
A fire that broke out on the George Washington at sea on May 22 off the coast of South America spread to multiple spaces via cableways, causing extreme heat, and trapping four sailors for more than four hours.
There were no serious injuries. Twenty-three sailors were treated for heat stress, and one sailor was treated for first-degree burns. As a result of the fire, the 1,092-foot ship is in San Diego for assessment and repairs.
George Washington is replacing the Kitty Hawk in Yokosuka, Japan, as the United States' forward deployed aircraft carrier in the Pacific. The carriers were expected to rendezvous in Pearl Harbor and be side-by-side at Hotel Pier. A swap of about 900 crew members had been planned here over several days the week of June 8.
Rescheduling the turnover with Kitty Hawk will be based on a final damage assessment expected later this week, U.S. Pacific Fleet spokesman Capt. Scott Gureck told Stars and Stripes.
The fire also has called into question the George Washington's planned participation in upcoming Rim of the Pacific exercises off Hawai'i scheduled June 29 through July 31, and may instead lead to Kitty Hawk being used for Rimpac.
The big biennial exercise held since 1971 this year will include 10 nations, 35 ships, six submarines, more than 150 aircraft and 20,000 sailors, airmen, Marines, soldiers and Coast Guardsmen, the Navy said. Participation from Australia, Canada, Chile, Japan, the Netherlands, Peru, South Korea, Singapore, the United Kingdom and the U.S. is expected.
The George Washington had been conducting a routine replacement at sea with the Pearl Harbor-based frigate Crommelin when smoke was observed on the carrier. It took several hours to contain and extinguish the fire.
The Kitty Hawk, the oldest active ship in the Navy fleet, was first deployed in 1961. It was expected to be in San Diego for several weeks before heading to Bremerton, Wash., for decommissioning.
Adm. Jonathan Greenert, commander of U.S. Fleet Forces Command, said the decommissioning wouldn't take place until early 2009 at the earliest, and only after the commissioning of the aircraft carrier George H.W. Bush.
Source
http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080602/COLUMNISTS32/806020337/1315/LOCALNEWSFRONT
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