The USS Fitzgerald, a U.S. Aegis destroyer that was damaged when it collided with another vessel in June, was placed on a lift transport vessel Saturday off Yokosuka naval base as preparation to return to the United States for full-scale repairs.
The 8,315-ton destroyer had received urgent repairs at the base in Yokosuka.
After being fixed onto the transport vessel, the destroyer will be taken to the United States a few days later to receive full-scale repairs at a shipyard in Mississippi.
The loading work began Friday. The 26,890-ton heavy lift transport vessel Transshelf submerged part of its hull, and after the Fitzgerald was maneuvered onto the Transshelf, the transport vessel rose and lifted the destroyer.
The Fitzgerald collided with a Philippine-registered container vessel off the Izu Peninsula in Shizuoka Prefecture. As a result of the accident, the right side of the destroyer’s body was seriously damaged, and seven of its crew died.
