Second Zumwalt destroyer aborts builder’s trials due to electrical problems

Electrical issues forced the US Navy’s second Zumwalt-class destroyer Michael Monsoor (DDG-1001) to abort builder’s trials just one day after leaving the shipyard.

The future USS Michael Monsoor got underway from the General Dynamics Bath Iron Works site on December 4 but was forced to return on December 5 after experiencing problems with the electrical systems.

The problems were caused by a harmonic filter aboard the ship, USNI News reported. According to the US Naval Sea Systems Command, the filters are used to prevent power fluctuations from damaging electrical equipment.

The US Navy said the filter issues would not affect Michael Monsoor’s delivery time table.

The lead ship in the class, USS Zumwalt, also experienced issues during its testing phase. Delivery was delayed because of the testing of the ship’s complicated Integrated Power System (IPS) which is distributing 1000 volts of direct current across the ship and is being installed on all three destroyers in the class.

Additionally, Zumwalt experienced two engineering problems en route to its homeport in San Diego. In April 2017, the US Navy announced that problems with Zumwalt’s lube oil chillers were resolved.