USS Cole (DDG 67) returns to the Fleet

Pascagoula, Miss., Dec. 24, 2000 — Two tug boats gently push USS Cole (DDG 67) to Pier 4 of the Ingalls Shipyard in Pascagoula, Miss., on Dec. 24, 2000. The Arleigh Burke-class destroyer was the target of a terrorist attack in Aden, Yemen, on Oct. 12, during a scheduled refueling. The attack killed 17 crew members and injured 39 others. Cole was transported from Aden to Pascagoula by the Norwegian heavy transport ship M/V Blue Marlin. A 60 foot by 60 foot patch was welded to the hull of the destroyer before it was off-loaded from Blue Marlin. U.S. Navy photo by Chief Photographer's Mate Johnny R. Wilson. [001224-N-3580W-540] Hi-rez.

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Cole was in the Yemini port for a refueling stop when a small boat laden with explosives was detonated beside the ship, blasting a hole in its side. Following the attack in which 17 Sailors were killed and 39 were injured, Cole was returned to the U.S. aboard the Norwegian heavy transport ship M/V Blue Marlin owned by Offshore Heavy Transport of Oslo, Norway. The ship was off-loaded Dec. 13, 2000, from Blue Marlin in a pre-dredged deep-water facility at the shipyard of Northrop Grumman Ship Systems, Ingalls Operations.

Ingalls, in coordination with the Navy’s Supervisor of Shipbuilding, Repair and Conversion (SUPSHIP) Pascagoula, recently completed repairs to the AEGIS destroyer, which included replacing more than 550 tons of steel on the exterior plating and major upgrades giving it more in common with the latest Arleigh Burke-class destroyers. Additional, a passageway with 17 white stars embedded in blue tile and a plaque memorizing the lost crewmembers, pays tribute to those killed. The passageway is on the serving line on the ship's mess decks.

Planning for the repairs was begun while Cole was still in Yemen, with engineering assessments to determine the extent of repair required. Personnel riding M/V Blue Marlin during the six-week transit from the Arabian Gulf assisted in that assessment, which was completed by Ingalls and the Naval Sea System Command.

The decision to have Ingalls repair Cole followed a thorough review of the capabilities, costs and schedules associated with public and private shipyards, and included an assessment of how the selection would impact Cole sailors and their families. Ingalls was determined to be the shipyard best suited to make the repairs.

The selection of Ingalls allowed most of the work to be done by civilian workers experienced in building this type of ship. Ingalls was the builder of Cole. Most of the ship's crew will be able to remain in Norfolk, Va., living and working as a team based in existing pre-commissioning facilities.

Cole is an Arleigh Burke-class, or Aegis, guided missile destroyer, and is based in Norfolk. The ship was part of the USS George Washington Battle Group, and was in transit from the Red Sea to a port visit in Bahrain when the ship stopped in Aden for routine refueling. The destroyer departed Norfolk for its deployment Aug. 8, 2000, and was scheduled to return home Dec. 21.

Cole was towed out of Aden harbor Oct. 29, 2000, to deeper water by the Military Sealift Command's fleet ocean tug USNS Cataba (T-ATF 168). The process of loading Cole onto the transport ship required a water depth of at least 75 feet since it involved partially submerging Blue Marlin and maneuving Cole into position over Blue Marlin's deck. The transport ship was then raised, and Cole was lifted aboard. The destroyer was canted on Blue Marlin's deck to protect her propellers and her sonar dome.

A Navy review, a JAG Manual investigation released in January 2001, examined the preparations that USS Cole made for refueling in Aden.