The USS Zumwalt has resumed its journey to its new home port of San Diego. The Bath Iron Works-built ship was headed that way last month when it broke down in the Panama Canal.
Authorities say the ship left Panama yesterday after repair crews addressed the issues that caused the breakdown. USS Zumwalt crew members, and a repair team from General Electric and Naval Sea Systems Command, made repairs to the ship's propulsion system.
Earlier this year, the guided missile destroyer staged successful sea trials off Maine. But once in Norfolk, Virginia, the Navy found a seawater leak in a propulsion shaft lubrication system, and union sources say BIW sent staff there to help repair the problem.
That problem did not disable the Zumwalt, the Navy said. But according to USNI News, the recent canal breakdown did, and it had to be towed to a port in Panama, sustaining minor exterior damage passing through a lock.
Officials say repairs to the ship were tested and evaluated, and the Zumwalt is now once again on its way to San Diego.
