USS Abraham Lincoln’s (CVN 72) Engineering Department, completed the certification process to enable a portion of the ship’s collection, holding, and transfer (CHT) system operational this July at Newport News Shipbuilding in Newport News, Virginia.
Lt. Michael Blackwood, who oversees the CHT system aboard Abraham Lincoln, discussed the importance of bringing online this capability ahead of schedule.
“Bringing portions of the CHT system online allows production work to start on the aft galley and mess decks,” said Blackwood .
“I think we’re in good hands and have taken a significant step in the right direction to get the ship operational and back to the fleet.”
Hull Maintenance Technician 1st Class Kennith Malone emphasized the importance of this key system and attaining this milestone.
“Habitability; it’s a major milestone in order to get the ship back into a livable condition,” said Malone .
With Crew Move Aboard scheduled for February 2016, bringing key systems online is critical to Lincoln’s ongoing refueling and complex overhaul (RCOH).
“We are significantly ahead of schedule. When it comes to RCOH we want to get the CHT online in order to take care of the ship’s needs,” said Malone , who added that the aft portions of CHT from frame 180 aft were online. “The faster we can get them online throughout the ship the less time is spent for people running back and forth to the Floating Accommodation Facility (FAF). It enables people to stay in one work area and not have to go from FAF to ship and back just to eat.”
Hull Maintenance Technician 2nd Class Kobi Thurman added that turning on CHT affects the entire ship’s crew.
Abraham Lincoln is currently undergoing RCOH at Newport News Shipbuilding, a division of Huntington Ingalls Industries in Newport News.
Lincoln is the fifth ship of the Nimitz-class to undergo an RCOH, a major life-cycle milestone. Once RCOH is complete, Lincoln will be one of the most modern and technologically advanced Nimitz-class aircraft carriers in the fleet and will continue to be a vital part of the nation’s defense.
Image: US Navy