The US Navy destroyer damaged in a collision with a commercial tanker in August is preparing to depart Singapore bound for Japan.
Over the weekend the John S McCain was loaded aboard the Dockwise heavy lift vessel 53,818-dwt Treasure (built 1990) off Jurong.
US authorities have not given a confirmed departure date for the vessel which will eventually head to the US repair base in Yokosuka, Japan.
In the weeks prior to departure from Singapore a patch was also installed over damaged sections of the hull to restore watertight integrity.
The John S. McCain was involved in a collision with Stealth Maritime’s 50,800-dwt tanker Alnic MC (built 2008) while underway east of the Straits of Malacca and Singapore on 21 August.
The ship suffered significant damage to her port side aft resulting in flooding to nearby compartments, including berthing, machinery, and communications rooms.
US authorities say an investigation is underway to determine the facts and circumstances of the collision.
This is the second contract Dockwise has secured from the US Navy to transport a damaged vessel back to a repair facility.
Earlier this year it won a contract from the US Military Sealift Command to transport the USS Fitzgerald back to the US following a smash off Japan in a deal worth $3.1m.
Dockwise teamed up with Texas-based Patriot Shipping for the deal which saw the damaged destroyer loaded onto the 34,000-dwt semi-submersible heavy transport vessel Transshelf (built 1987) off Yokosuka, for transport to Pascagoula in the Gulf of Mexico.
Prior to the Fitzgerald and McCain contracts, the US Navy last used a heavy lift vessel to transport a ship back to the US was in 2000 following the attack on USS Cole in Yemen.
