The littoral combat ship USS Fort Worth (LCS 3) departed its maintenance and logistics hub in Singapore April 30, after a five-day preventative maintenance availability (PMAV) and a two-week long repair availability (RAV).
The RAV was the first extended maintenance availability for the ship during its 16-month rotational deployment to the Indo-Asia-Pacific.
According to Cmdr. Michael Desmond, LCS Crew 103 executive officer, these maintenance periods make it possible for Fort Worth to remain in theater and underway for a majority of her extended deployment.
Lt. Lemont King, chief engineer for LCS Crew 103, said:
The maintenance period included more than 580 checks and 100 tag outs of engineering, deck and combat systems. Some of the maintenance that was performed was originally scheduled to be completed during the first quarter of Fort Worth’s deployment, but was successfully rescheduled after Fort Worth was reassigned to assist in the search efforts for AirAsia flight QZ8501.
Fort Worth will conduct routine patrols in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations before returning to Singapore for the International Maritime Defense Exhibition and Conference (IMDEX) 2015 just ahead of the next crew swap in late May.
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Image: US Navy