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YOKOSUKA, Japan – USS Blue Ridge, U.S. 7th Fleet command ship, conducted an incline survey with personnel from Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility Planning Yard Jan. 18.
The purpose of the survey was to collect data needed to prepare for the next 30 years of Blue Ridge’s tenure as the command platform for Commander, U.S. 7th Fleet.
"With an extended service life of nearly 30 years, and with the endeavor from the ship’s crew, it was identified that we needed to perform an inclining of Blue Ridge to accurately assess her current structural characteristics,” Blue Ridge’s damage control assistant, Lt. Jerry Belmonte said.
The experiment consisted of a series of intricate tests which assessed the ship’s center of gravity and buoyancy capabilities. These results will provide leadership with a scope of boundaries of future structural configurations and control capabilities enabling Blue Ridge to continue coordinating U.S. and allied naval forces in the region.
“The results of this experiment will allow us to plan for future structural upgrades and configurations since the extended service life assessment of Blue Ridge was granted to push her decommissioning date to the year 2039,” Master Chief Machinist’s Mate Gilfredo Belantes, Blue Ridge’s engineering department leading chief petty officer said.
“Knowing where we can upgrade areas of the ship without affecting the ship’s list is critical for her to successfully continue as the 7th Fleet command ship.”
During the incline experiment, Blue Ridge was moved to a dry dock berth that would allow “free float” with minimal movement, while weights were craned onto the main deck. After the weights were in place, forklifts moved them across the flight deck while instruments measured the ship’s list resulting from the weight movements.
Lacey Van Wingerden, PSNS & IMF naval architect, said the incline experiment took months of planning and although the actual evolution took an estimated eight hours, the process was made easier by assistance from the ship’s company.
“My job during this evolution was to organize all of the data concerning the weight within each of the ship’s compartments,” said Van Wingerden. “Without the help of the ship’s crew measuring each and every tank within the ship, my hands would have really been full,” she said.
With the incline experiment completed, weight surveys and incline data will be evaluated, and a report will be produced and distributed. If any corrective action is necessary, it will be recommended in conjunction with U.S. Navy standards.
The experiment results will also form the baseline for the ship’s updated stability reports, damage control books, corrective action, and will assist with future ship calculations and studies.
For nearly 33 years, Blue Ridge has been forward-deployed to Yokosuka, Japan as the command ship for Commander, U.S. 7th Fleet, forging allied partnerships in the region while maintaining readiness at the forefront of technology. The knowledge from the incline survey will allow her crew to continue to set the standard as the premier command ship for nearly 30 more years.
| Date Taken: | 01.18.2012 |
| Date Posted: | 01.18.2012 07:00 |
| Story ID: | 82510 |
| Location: | YOKOSUKA, AICHI, JP |
| Web Views: | 199 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Blue Ridge looks ahead: The next 30 years, by SN JAMES NORMAN, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
