Evaluation of the Dropping of a Propeller Shaft During Installation on the USS COLE a DDG 51 Class Destroyer

A terrorist bomb damaged the USS COLE by putting a hole in the side of the ship that was over 30 feet in diameter and flooded the forward engine room. After the ship was stabilized it was placed on the heavy lift ship, the BLUE MARLIN. The BLUE MARLIN brought the USS COLE back to Ingalls shipyard in Pascagoula, Mississippi for repair as seen in figure 1. The Navy wanted to expedite the repairs to the USS COLE and so parts from the battle damage spare inventory were used to obtain components that needed to be replaced to significantly reduce the lead-time needed. During the repair it was determined the shafts needed replacement. To do this each section of the shaft is slowly slid into the hull of the ship using rigging to swing it through the openings in the bulkheads. It was during one of these rigging moves that a section of the shaft was being temporarily suspended by rigging during installation into the ship just short of a bulkhead shaft clearance opening. While in this configuration the rigging at the inboard end of the shaft failed. This dropped the shaft about 12 inches onto a temporary channel that was welded to the bulkhead to support the shaft while it is passed through the bulkhead opening.