The USS Patriot sits pierside at Sasebo Naval Base on Wednesday. The U.S. Navy said it plans to fix a design flaw on its minesweepers that sometimes causes smoldering hull fires. The Patriot has not had any fires, according to the crew. (Travis J. Tritten / Stars and Stripes)
SASEBO NAVAL BASE, Japan — Do you smell something burning?
A design flaw in U.S. Navy minesweepers, including two deployed here with the 7th Fleet, can cause exhaust flanges to ignite smoldering fires on the ships’ wood hulls, according to U.S. Naval Surface Forces.
The USS Patriot, which is homeported at Sasebo Naval Base, has been inspected and has not experienced any fires, the minesweeper’s chief engineer said last week. The condition of the USS Guardian, also at Sasebo, was unclear because the Navy did not return requests for comment by deadline Friday.
Fixing the design problem is now a high priority following a recent meeting of the Navy’s surface warfare commands in Washington, D.C., U.S. Naval Surface Forces said in a news release.
The Surface Warfare Enterprise conference in September set out a list of fleet issues that are to receive "immediate attention," including fixes for aging control systems of guided-missile frigates and corrosion-prone gun mounts for coastal patrols, the release said.
While in port, the Patriot has been inspected for effects of the design flaw that can lead to the hull fires, and the crew has found no problems with the diesel engine exhaust flanges, said Lt. Tim Carter, chief engineer for the Patriot.
"We’ve heard that other ships have had a problem," Carter said. "But we haven’t seen any problems."
The design problem causes residue from minesweeper exhausts to leak or build up around the flange and create the potential for fire, he said.
Stars and Stripes requested information on the Guardian on Thursday and Friday from the Naval Mine and Anti-Submarine Warfare Command in Corpus Christi, Texas, but did not receive a response by Friday afternoon.
Meanwhile, during the conference last month, top priorities were outlined for the SWE’s sustainment and modernization team, which will head up the slew of fixes, according to U.S. Naval Surface Forces.
In all, 30 fleet issues from all eight class squadron commanders were prioritized and about one-third of those can be solved with the Navy’s existing resources, the command said.
Among those are:
¡ Launch littoral combat ship-to-shore distance support programs.¡ Conduct corrosion control surveys to maintain guided-missile cruisers for their expected service life.¡ Change how amphibious assault ships’ continuous maintenance availabilities are scheduled to minimize clashes with training schedules.¡ Review the periodic engine assessments on dock-landing ships to foster smart scheduling practices.¡ Weigh the possibility of replacing Aegis large-screen displays on guided-missile destroyers sooner than expected.Those issues were to receive "immediate attention" following the conference, Naval Surface forces said.
However, they indicated 70 percent of the issues raised will require longer efforts and shifted priorities in the Navy.
