Navy mine countermeasures ship USS Devastator departs Naval Support Activity Bahrain for sea trials Dec. 17, 2023. The ship underwent a seven-month maintenance period, which was completed 18 days ahead of schedule. (MacAdam Kane Weissman/U.S. Navy)
NAPLES, Italy — A Navy mine countermeasures ship based in Bahrain could be back on duty earlier than expected after crews finished months of scheduled maintenance more than two weeks ahead of time.
A seven-month project on USS Devastator was completed Dec. 18, the Forward Deployed Regional Maintenance Center in Naples said in a statement issued Wednesday. The expected end date for the work was 18 days later, according to the statement.
The maintenance center serves U.S. 6th Fleet and U.S. 5th Fleet and has detachments in Bahrain and Spain.
Devastator will rejoin three sister ships as the U.S. and other nations work to address missile and drone attacks on international vessels in the Red Sea.
The project included work on propulsion systems, electrical systems and structural areas as well as hull inspection and preservation on the 33-year-old, wooden-hulled ship, according to the statement.
The work was done by the maintenance center’s Bahrain detachment.
Devastator’s return to the fleet comes as Iran-backed Houthi rebels continue attacking commercial vessels in the Red Sea.
On Saturday, the destroyer USS Laboon shot down four drones launched from Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen coming toward the ship as it patrolled in the southern part of the sea, U.S. Central Command posted on its account on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Two tankers in the sea also came under drone attacks Saturday, with one sustaining a hit but no injuries.
The same day, two Houthi anti-ship ballistic missiles were fired into international shipping lanes in the Red Sea. There were no reports of ships being hit, CENTCOM said.
As of Saturday, there had been 15 attacks on commercial ships by Houthi militants since Oct. 17, according to CENTCOM.
Commissioned in 1990, Devastator is among four Avenger-class mine countermeasures vessels homeported in Bahrain that can find, classify and destroy moored and bottom mines, according to the Navy’s website. The others are USS Sentry, USS Gladiator and USS Dextrous.
Four more of the same class are homeported in Sasebo, Japan.
Equipped with sonar and video systems, the ships also have cable cutters and a mine-detonating device that can be released and controlled remotely, the Navy said on its website.
They are armed with two .50 caliber machine guns, two M60.7 62 mm machine guns and two MK19 grenade launchers, according to the Navy.
