The Navy is investigating the circumstances behind one of its ships running aground on July 15 in Bahrain.
The Lewis and Clark-class dry cargo ship Alan Shepard experienced the mishap at the ASRY shipyard in Al Hidd, but didn’t suffer any significant damage, according to a spokesperson for the U.S. 5th Fleet.
“On Saturday afternoon in Bahrain, U.S. Navy dry cargo ship USNS Alan Shepard (T-AKE-3) ran aground while moving under its own propulsion from ASRY shipyard in Al Hidd to a pier at Khalifa Bin Salman Port,” Cmdr. Tim Hawkins said in a statement. “Assisted by tug boats, Alan Shepard maneuvered under its own power the following morning at high tide and is safely moored pierside in Bahrain.”
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No personnel sustained injuries, and there was no operational impact, Hawkins said. The vessel’s crew is made up of more than 80 civilian mariners, but it’s unclear how many were aboard at the time of the mishap.
The Alan Shepard launched in 2006 and is named after the first American to enter space: the late astronaut and Rear Adm. Alan Shepherd.
In 2017, the guided-missile cruiser Antietam ran aground off the coast of Japan near Yokosuka Naval Base after anchoring out due to high winds.
That mishap, which an investigation determined was preventable, resulted in $4.2 million in repairs and 1,100 gallons of oil spilling into the bay.
