Jan. 26 (UPI) -- Coast Guard National Security Cutter Waesche is back in operational condition after several months under repair due to a September fire.
Ship Repair Facility and Japan Regional Maintenance Center spent more than 10,000 man-hours of labor on the vessel, the Coast Guard said this week.
Among the fixes were repairs to vital and non-vital lighting systems, fire detection systems, the controllable pitch propeller's head tank, main propulsion diesel engine hoses, and aft main machinery room's exhaust vent fans, officials said.
The fire broke out Sept. 19 while the vessel was under way in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of responsibility.
Five Coast Guard members suffered minor injuries and the boat was moved to Fleet Activities Yokosuka for repair.
Upon arrival Ship Repair Facility and Japan Regional Maintenance Center SRF-JRMC identified immediate critical repairs and restored Waesche to operational condition.
The cutter is now cleared to return to its homeport in Alameda, Calif.
"As you can image the US Coast Guard does not have a logistics footprint in Yokosuka, at all in Japan. So we were wholly reliant on our partnership with NAVSEA and SRF to do the repairs," USCG Rear Admiral Nathan Moore said during the Surface Navy Association symposium held earlier this month.
"That work was successfully completed and that ship was able to get back to her home in California before the end of the calendar year. That entire process helped us learn about battle damage repair and how we do things like fire response," Moore said.
