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Debris in generators delays delivery of Bush

By Andrew Scutro - Staff writer
Posted : Thursday Apr 23, 2009 16:12:54 EDT

An undisclosed amount of “foreign material” discovered in the emergency diesel generators aboard the aircraft carrier George H.W. Bush has delayed its delivery to the Navy, several officials said.

Shipbuilder Northrop Grumman was expected to deliver the ship shortly after the carrier finished its acceptance trials April 10.

“We will take delivery after the discrepancies have been corrected,” said Alan Baribeau, spokesman at Naval Sea Systems Command. “The ‘when’ depends on Northrop Grumman.”

Baribeau described the problem as “foreign material found in the lube oil system” of diesel generators, which are used as a source of emergency electrical power. Under normal operations, Nimitz-class carriers are powered by their two nuclear reactors.

Members of the Navy Board of Inspection and Survey were aboard Bush for its acceptance trials off the Virginia and North Carolina coasts April 7-10.

Margaret Mitchell-Jones, a Northrop Grumman spokeswoman, said the “unexpected debris” in a “particle” form was discovered by InSurv during the open and inspect phase of their evaluation, after the ship had returned to port.

“We are unsure of exactly how it happened,” she said, “but we’ll ensure it’s remedied.”

Bush was commissioned Jan. 10. The ship “successfully” completed acceptance trials on April 10, according to a Navy announcement. It’s scheduled to deploy in the fall of 2010.

Baribeau said the corrections to the generators must be made by Northrop Grumman.

Bush is the last of 10 Nimitz-class aircraft carriers. It’s delivery cost is $6.26 billion, Mitchell-Jones said. Fixing the generator problem might not require replacement but will take “a few weeks” she said. “The Navy decides when they accept a ship.”