Fire In The Superstructure Of $3 Billion Assault Ship USS Bougainville Under Construction At Ingalls
Ingalls Shipbuilding and the U.S. Navy are investigating the cause of the fire inside the superstructure of the $ 3 billion amphibious assault vessel that the Pascagoula shipyard is building for the U.S. Navy.
A spokesperson of Ingalls, Kimberley Aguillard, mentioned that the incident occurred last Thursday in the evening shift onboard the future USS Bougainville or LHA 9. Ingalls fire and safety officials rushed when they received a call and were luckily able to contain the fire that had spread to only a few compartments within the ship’s superstructure.
After the fire was extinguished, two shipbuilders were rushed to a nearby hospital as they inhaled smoke. Their condition was not serious, and they were discharged the same evening. Also, four more people were treated on-site for smoke inhalation. Fortunately, no other injuries were reported.
Although the investigation is ongoing, hot work is suspected of having caused the fire, said Aguillard, who also stated that a full review of events and a detailed timeline are also being constructed.
Till now, it has been revealed that the damage caused by the fire is limited to the few impacted compartments, while the rest of the ship and the shipyard have not sustained any damage.
The shipyard began the fabrication on the USS Bougainville in October 2018, and hopefully, the vessel will be launched this year. It has been designed to accommodate the Marine Corps’ F-35 B Lighting II Joint Strike Fighters.
The ship is being built at a whopping cost of $3.1 billion. Ingalls is the U.S. Navy’s only builder of large-deck, amphibious warships.
References: USNI News, AL.com
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