USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) took on 500,000 gallons of JP-5 fuel Feb. 10, marking the first time the ship has received fuel since it entered refueling and complex overhaul (RCOH) more than three years ago.
Sailors assigned to TR’s Air Department V-4 division oversaw the operation, which involved a barge pulling alongside the ship and hooking up fuel lines to transfer the JP-5.
Chief Aviation Boatswain’s Mate Ernest Carter , V-4 division’s leading chief petty officer, said V-4 has been training for months to ensure the evolution was successful.
“Right now the process is going great,” said Carter.
Once the barge was alongside TR, V-4 Sailors and shipyard workers from Newport News Shipbuilding, a division of Huntington Ingalls Industries, connected fuel hoses to the ship’s JP-5 lines and began pumping fuel.
“The hardest part was learning all of the pumps, parts and valves, how they operate, and troubleshooting,” said Aviation Boatswain’s Mate (Fuels) Airman Averitt Sales . “There were a lot of challenges.”
Because of the large quantity of fuel involved and most of the fuel pipes and tanks have been refurbished, the entire ship had to be vigilant to ensure a successful onload, Carter said.
“There is always a hazard and danger of gaskets blowing,” said Carter. “The way we combat that is just to have Sailors out roving the ship with tools ready to tighten things down and secure pumping, if need be.”
Cmdr. Dan Case, TR’s air boss, said the onload marked an important milestone for TR, allowing for the crew to start planning for future flight operations.
“This is one step closer to getting underway,” said Case. “One important thing we do at sea is to fuel aircraft. To do that, we have to take on fuel, and we do that a lot as we go through deployment and workups. Today gives us a chance to test a lot of our systems that have not been exercised in the past four years. The next time that we do a lot of the testing will be when we go out for sea trials. By then, we will be able to fuel all of our aircraft during sea trials and flight deck certification.”
TR is in the final months of RCOH at Newport News shipbuilding and is preparing to return to the operational fleet.
[mappress] Naval Today Staff, February 12, 2013; Image: US Navy