On March 29, a heavy lift ship allided with a test barge at Huntington Ingalls Industries’ yard in Pascagoula, Mississippi, pushing the barge into a newbuild destroyer. The heavy lift ship was arriving from Qingdao with a new Chinese-built floating drydock on board.
Mainly, the test barge was alongside DDG 119, the USS Delbert D. Black, at the time of the allision.
The barge was supporting electrical work on board the destroyer, and the impact pushed it against the newbuild’s hull. Several individuals suffered minor injuries and were treated at the scene, as HII reported.
For the time being, the factor that caused the incident remains unknown and is under investigation.
There was some water intrusion into the ship, and that damage is currently being assessed and repaired a yard spokesman quoted at US Naval Institute News.
The heavy lift ship, Hawk, is one of the largest semi-submersible vessels of her kind. She is operated by an Oslo-based heavy lift firm.
DDG 119, the USS Delbert Black, is the first ship named after a master chief petty officer of the Navy (MCPON). Her namesake, Delbert D. Black, was a veteran of WWII and the first master chief petty officer of the Navy.
