US Navy’s 6th Fleet flagship USS Mount Whitney will undergo a six-month dry docking and overhaul in the Croatian Viktor Lenac Shipyard, the company announced on September 13.
Under the terms of the contract, USS Mount Whitney will undergo the 3rd stage of its scheduled life-cycle maintenance to extend the life of this 1970s era command ship till 2039.
A long-term relationship between the US Navy and Viktor Lenac Shipyard began in 1993 when the United States Department of Defense – Department of the Navy and Viktor Lenac Shipyard signed the Master Agreement for Repair and Alteration of Vessels.
The cooperation started with a crashed F-16 plane recovery operation from the Adriatic Sea. A joint recovery operation was planned and executed by the US Air Force, US divers, Croatian Military Forces and Viktor Lenac employees.
During the master agreement the shipyard carried out a few small-scope projects on several USN vessels in Croatian ports. USS Nashville was the first ship that underwent repairs within the premises of Viktor Lenac Shipyard.
Since 2011, the US Navy’s Military Sealift Command entrusted the USS Mount Whitney projects to Viktor Lenac Shipyard for 4 times.
The Navy has only two amphibious command ships, USS Blue Ridge (LCC 19) and USS Mount Whitney (LCC 20). In 2011 the Chief of Naval Operations extended their service lives to 2039.