USS Zumwalt, the lead ship of a new class of U.S. Navy’s advanced destroyers, has continued its transit to the San Diego naval base after undergoing repairs in Panama.
After experiencing a breakdown while transiting the Panama Canal on November 21 the ship was first towed to the former U.S. naval base Rodman and later moved to Balboa, Panama for repairs.
According to a U.S. 3rd Fleet statement on Thursday, a team composed of the ship’s crew, General Electric personnel and the Naval Sea Systems Command repaired USS Zumwalt’s propulsion systems and the ship was able to continue its journey on November 30.
Once the ship reaches San Diego, the navy said it would look into what is causing the problems with lube oil coolers on the ship which have caused problems on another occasion in October.
Upon arrival in San Diego, Zumwalt is also scheduled to begin installation of combat systems, testing and evaluation, and operational integration with the fleet.
The ship was commissioned on October 15 this year as the lead ship in the class. At 610 feet long and 80.7 feet wide, Zumwalt ships are the largest destroyers the U.S. Navy has ever built.