The crew of the dock landing ship USS Germantown (LSD 42) has been steadily eradicating corrosion throughout the ship with the assistance of the hard working Corrosion Control Assistance Team (CCAT).
The CCAT combines the technical expertise of Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) corrosion experts and hand-selected ship personnel.
A huge focus of the team is training, which is given to all members selected for the team. The training includes topics such as corrosion identification, proper grinding methods, and effective paint preparation and application.
Hull Technician 1st Class Michael Crans, one of the ship force personnel selected for the team, said:
Learning how to handle corrosion correctly and doing it right the first time means the metal will last twice as long. It saves an incredible amount of money and manpower.
CCAT isn’t just saving the Navy money in the future by proper ship preservation; the team is saving government dollars now in a fiscally austere environment. The tedious and labor intensive preservation work would have cost millions if outsourced to contractors.
By finding ways to attain the same quality of work within the Navy, the cost is greatly reduced. In addition, it significantly improves the knowledge and skill set of the ship’s force.
So far, CCAT has properly preserved more than 10,000 square feet of metal throughout the ship. Their preservation work has been on many mission essential areas such as the 0-5 level weather decks, well deck accesses, the stern gate, both stern gate machinery rooms, and bilges in the main engineering spaces.
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Image: US Navy