The Navy determined after a damage assessment that restoring the warship would cost more than $3 billion and five-to-seven years to complete. The conflagration erupted on USS Bonhomme Richard's lower decks, sending temperatures as high as 1,200 degrees and triggering several explosions as it tore through the ship, The fire on the USS Bonhomme Richard burned for four days. Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own. It is unclear if there are plans to purchase a new ship. The ship will likely be decommissioned in San Diego. And while nobody wants to see such an important vessel meet such an ignominious end, the smart decision was to get the vessel off the books before any other well-meaning stakeholder in the U.S. government could interfere. It is tough for any Navy leader to decommission a pricy, high-profile asset. Naval Sailors were seen putting on their protective gear as they responded to the fire, Firefighters are pictured looking on, amid thick smoke, as the ship burned, Teams of sailors rotated on 15-minute firefighting shift patterns to tackle the blaze last summer, The Bonhomme Richard was undergoing maintenance when the fire erupted on July 12, 2020, Pentagon will scrap $750million USS Bonhomme Richard after learning it would cost $3 BILLION and seven years to restore after July arson attack, July: Fire teams battle massive blaze on navy ship in San Diego, Threat eases as battle at USS Bonhomme Richard enters day four, Battle against USS Bonhomme Richard fire from up close, Democrat Oregon Governor Allots All of the Govt. Helicopters also dumped water onto the $761 million ship as part of the rescue effort, At least 68 firefighters suffered injuries during the four-day fight against the blaze last July, Day and night the rescuers doused the ship with water to try and extinguish the fire, USS Bonhomme Richard seen ablaze last July with a thick plume of smoke billowing in the sky, Firefighting efforts involved personnel from Naval Base San Diego (right) and the City of San Diego Fire Department (left), along with Harbor Police fire boats and fire teams from other ships, according to the Navy. As USNI News notes: “Between December 1941 and September 1945, over 350 U.S. Navy warships and patrol craft were sunk or damaged beyond repair. The Bonhomme Richard was nearing the end of a two-year upgrade estimated to cost $250 million when the fire started. The Navy also determined it would cost more than $1 billion to repurpose the ship for other … For more than a billion dollars, American taxpayers would have received a balky, infirm vessel capable of potentially 20 years of additional service, when, in turn, a newly built, somewhat shock-hardened and auxiliary-ready variant of the utilitarian LPD-17 hull could be purchased for less. You may opt-out by. publishing op-eds and papers in places like the Washington Post, the Los … The Navy said on Monday that it … Well-Intended Stimulus Will Help Airline Employees, But Not For Long, Russia’s Oldest Bomber Now Controls Drones — Here’s What It Might Do With Them, Biden Defense Team Inherits Navy Robotic Warship Research Aimed At Deterring And Defeating China, With Rival American And Chinese Naval Transits Through The Taiwan Strait, The Advanced F-16s Taiwan Is Buying Will Come In Handy, America’s Pre-Biden Gun Spree Outstrips Supplies For AR-15s, Ammo. Now, a less ambitious modernization—employing the hull as a barracks ship or as some sort of forward basing auxiliary support hulk—might have offered a marginally better business case, but better, cheaper and probably longer-lived alternatives are available there as well. Braithwaite has already demonstrated his commitment to the Navy, and a clean hand-over to a potential successor offers the Navy a lifeline in what will be, at best, a tough and turbulent transition to the Biden Presidency. The 23-year-old USS Bonhomme Richard is designed to deploy Marines in amphibious assaults. © 2020 Forbes Media LLC. Defense attorneys would be entitled to examine the wreck for expert witnesses to testify at trial. Previously, I served as an The Navy also examined rebuilding the ship for alternate purposes and determined the cost could exceed $1 billion, which is as much or more than a new-construction hospital ship, submarine tender, or command-and-control ship. Restoring the 22-year-old ship for another use, perhaps as a hospital, would take almost as long as full restoration and cost $1 billion. The Navy has decided it isn't worth the cost and effort to rebuild the 22-year-old Bonhomme Richard, so it will be scrapped. But by acting decisively now, while both the Congress and the White House are distracted with the impending change in Administration, Braithwaite removed a real potential headache for any incoming Navy Secretary. Frankly, a more mendacious political leader could have easily walked away and left the mess of the Bonhomme Richard for the next Navy Secretary. It had been undergoing maintenance when the fire was first reported in a lower cargo area where seafaring tanks are parked, 'We did not come to this decision lightly,' Navy Secretary Kenneth J. Braithwaite said. About 160 sailors and officers were on board when the flames sent up a huge plume of dark smoke from the 840-foot amphibious assault vessel, which had been docked at Naval Base San Diego while undergoing the upgrade. The low-key Navy secretary has, within the confines of a very tiny overseas brief, done good diplomatic work for the Navy, advancing the Navy in the deep Pacific and beyond. Given the expense of the stricken high-profile asset—a replacement for the charred USS Bonhomme Richard will cost between $3 billion to $4 billion—the Navy did not dither. USS BONHOMME RICHARD is the sixth ship in the WASP - class and the last amphibious assault ship in the Navy commissioned in the 20 th century. The USS Bonhomme Richard, which was ravaged by a blaze that began July 12, would cost more than $3 billion to restore, a process that would take between five … On November 30, 2020, the Navy announced that the BONHOMME RICHARD will be decommissioned and scrapped following the 5-day fire in July 2020 which massively damaged the ship. The official spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to provide details not yet made public. And, with the decision on the USS Bonhomme Richard (and potentially a few other interesting decisions to come in the next few weeks), Braithwaite has shown a willingness to shoulder tough institutional challenges in a timely, politically astute and non-partisan fashion. About 160 sailors … The amphibious assault ship burned for more than four days in July and was the Navy's worst U.S. warship fire outside of combat in recent memory. Can It Figure Out How To Neutralize Drones? Kenneth Braithwaite appears to be one of those lucky ones. Sailors and federal firefighters combat a fire onboard the amphibious assault ship USS Bonhomme Richard at … The Bonhomme Richard was nearing the end of a two-year upgrade estimated to cost $250 million when the fire started. All Rights Reserved, This is a BETA experience. The fire that broke out on the U.S. Navy amphibious ship USS Bonhomme Richard at a shipyard in San Diego last month caused catastrophic damage to 11 of 14 decks on the 844-foot vessel. About 160 sailors and officers were on board when the flames sent up a huge plume of dark smoke from the 840-foot amphibious assault vessel, which had been docked at Naval Base San Diego while undergoing the upgrade. Stimulus Funds of $1.6 Billion to Portland Area — Ignores Rural Counties, Pelosi Stutters, Slurs Words and Struggles to Speak as She Fights to Keep Her Dentures in Her Face (VIDEO), Unemployment is no joke. Lawrence B. Brennan, a retired Navy captain and adjunct professor of law at Fordham Law School, said the decision to decommission was 'inevitable and correct.'. The U.S. Navy on Monday announced it will decommission the USS Bonhomme Richard, the warship that caught fire and burned for days this summer … discuss naval matters at NextNavy.com or write about the Navy, The sailor was questioned as part of the investigation by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, an official with knowledge of the investigation said in August. After entering office in May 2020, he quickly embraced naval history, bringing back traditional apolitical naming schemes for Navy vessels. Replacing the ship would cost the Navy billions. A helicopter from Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 3 combats a fire aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Bonhomme Richard. biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) challenges. The total cost of the warship is estimated to be $761 million, according to … To that end, Braithwaite has moved fast. Fully repairing the USS Bonhomme Richard to warfighting capabilities would cost $2.5 billion to $3 billion and take five to seven years, said Rear Adm. Eric H. Ver Hage of the Navy Regional Maintenance Center. But for less money, it could repurpose the Bonhomme Richard, making it an operational testbed for cutting-edge … Retiring as a flag officer in 2011, Braithwaite knew enough malleable bits of Pentagon bureaucracy to quietly hammer home a worthy legacy that he can be proud of. I evaluate national security threats and propose solutions. Navy officials and industry experts studied the cost and schedule with an eye toward 'the art of the possible,' Ver Hage told reporters. More than 60 sailors and civilians were treated for minor injuries, heat exhaustion and smoke inhalation. Aside from the ship's extensive damage and advanced age, evidence would have to be preserved for any prosecution, delaying repair work, he said. But by August 2013, it was clear restoring the stricken sub made neither fiscal nor operational sense, and the USS Miami was sent to the scrapyard. executive for naval shipbuilder Austal USA, helping deliver Littoral With a Ph.D. in Immunology and Infectious Diseases from Harvard University, I have taught at the University of California, the Naval Postgraduate School, and the Monterey Institute of International Studies. The Bonhomme Richard was nearing the end of a two-year upgrade estimated to cost $250 million when the fire broke out Sunday. The second option, rebuilding the ship for alternative purposes, was still ambitious but, given the circumstances, prudent. The ship was left with extensive structural, electrical and mechanical damage. In May 2012, a shipyard worker at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard set the USS Miami on fire, and the resulting conflagration consumed a good part of the vessel. In fact, it handed down a decision on the mini aircraft carrier with merciful speed. The U.S. Navy announced it will scrap the USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD 6), forgoing repairs to the Wasp-class amphibious assault ship that was ravaged by a major fire in San Diego in July. But these memes are pretty damn funny…. The USS Bonhomme Richard cost $750 million to build when it was commissioned back in 1998, which amounts to about $1.2 billion in today's dollars. The Bonhomme Richard was nearing the end of a two-year upgrade estimated to cost $250 million when the fire started. Ver Hage said about 60% of the ship would likely need to be replaced to have it fully restored, including the flight deck, mast and many levels directly below the flight deck. Given the expense of the stricken high-profile asset—a replacement for the charred USS Bonhomme Richard will cost between $3 billion to $4 billion—the Navy did not dither. Pictured, smoke rises from the USS Bonhomme Richard at Naval Base San Diego in San Diego, after an explosion and fire onboard the ship at Naval Base San Diego, On Monday, the Navy said that it will decommission the warship docked off San Diego after suspected arson caused extensive damage, making it too expensive to restore, Helicopters approach the USS Bonhomme Richard as crews fight the fire in San Diego last summer, Pictures taken by @Osinttechnical show the 'extensive damage' caused by the blaze which burned for more than four days off San Diego harbor, More than 160 people had been aboard when the blaze erupted. In fact, Braithwaite’s performance may merit an offer from President-elect Joe Biden’s Pentagon Landing Team to stay on for a while, managing the Navy until Braithwaite’s potential successor can be named and confirmed by the Senate. The cost of replacing the Bonhomme Richard would be about $4 billion, said Todd Harrison, an expert on military budgets at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. For all Braithwaite has done in his short tenure, there is no need to replace him right away. Smoke rises from the USS Bonhomme Richard at Naval Base San Diego in San Diego, after an explosion and fire onboard the ship In this July 12, 2020, file photo. Congress leapt into action, offering money to start repairs. The Navy needs new auxiliary ships, and using the weakened, albeit still a largely military-spec hull as a starting point for a submarine tender or hospital ship was an interesting idea. About 160 sailors and officers were on board when the flames sent up a … Firefighters attacked the flames inside the ship while firefighting vessels with water cannons directed streams of seawater into the ship and helicopters made water drops. The Bonhomme Richard was nearing the end of a two-year upgrade estimated to cost $250 million when the fire started. U.S. About 160 sailors … The Bonhomme Richard was nearing the end of a two-year upgrade estimated to cost $250 million when the fire broke out Sunday. But the ship suffered a catastrophic pier-side fire, and tough questions regarding the vessel’s fate were clouding the Navy’s long-term modernization plans. U.S. Navy Photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Jeffrey F. Yale U.S. Navy photo by George Doyon “We did not come to this decision lightly,” said SecretaryRead More In the end, the third option, scrapping the vessel, was inevitable. (28 Photos). 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