U.S. Navy can't afford to repair submarine damaged by fire

PORTSMOUTH, Maine, Aug. 8 (UPI) -- The U.S. Navy can't afford to repair the $400 million in damage to the USS Miami, twice set on fire by a worker eager to leave work, officials said.

Casey James Fury, 24, admitted last year he set two fires to the nuclear submarine in May and June 2012 while the vessel was dry-docked at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Maine for repairs. He said he wanted to leave work early because he was having anxiety attacks.

He was sentenced to 17 years in prison and was ordered to pay $400 million in restitution.

The Navy won't receive anything close to that amount from Fury, and the government won't be able to help cover the cost of repairs, either, after forced budget cuts, CNN reported Wednesday.

"The type of damage was unlike anything we'd seen in recent memory," Rear Adm. Richard Breckenridge, director of undersea warfare, wrote on a Navy Live blog post. "The anticipated scope of work is four times greater than any previous submarine repair due to damage. ...

"Sequestration pressures remove the needed foundation of stability to support an endeavor of this magnitude," he said of the repairs.

The Miami was commissioned in 1990 and was one of 42 subs in the U.S. fleet. It was capable of carrying a crew of 12 officers and 98 enlisted personnel, as well as Tomahawk cruise missiles and Mark 48 torpedoes.