While the USS Little Rock, a newly commissioned littoral combat ship, remains stuck in the ice in Montreal, a Marinette shipyard is helping the vessel get through the winter.
The 389-foot U.S. Navy warship has been iced-in on the St. Lawrence Seaway since late December and is not expected to get moving until spring.
It's an unplanned winter layover for the $380 million ship built at the Fincantieri-Marinette Marine shipyard and delivered to the Navy last fall.
After being commissioned in Buffalo, N.Y., on Dec. 16, USS Little Rock arrived in Montreal on Dec. 27. It was supposed to stop for a brief visit before sailing on to its home port in Mayport, Fla.
Winter was already settling in and ice was forming on the seaway, but the Navy thought it still had enough time to get through the passageway to the Atlantic before it froze over.
Then temperatures dropped to near-record lows, which thickened the ice and prevented the ship from departing the Port of Montreal.
“Keeping the ship in Montreal until waterways are clear ensures the safety of the ship and crew,” said Lt. Cmdr. Courtney Hillson.
How long could that be? Historically, ice in the St. Lawrence doesn’t melt enough for ships to travel again until mid-March, according to the Navy.
The USS Little Rock and its crew of about 70 sailors are hunkering down in Montreal for the rest of the winter, while Marinette Marine personnel assist in winterizing the ship for its icy berth.
The Navy is implementing the shipyard’s recommended cold-weather care and protection plan, Hillson said, which includes installing temporary heaters and 16 de-icing machines to keep water moving around the hull and reduce the effects of ice accumulation.
Also, the crew has been given additional cold weather gear.
“While in port, the crew of Little Rock will continue to focus on training, readiness and certifications,” Hillson said, in areas such as medical assistance, damage control, navigation and security.
By now, the ship should have arrived at its home port in Florida.
The USS Little Rock was commissioned in December 2017. She is a Freedom-class littoral combat ship of the United States Navy and the second ship named after Little Rock, the capital city of Arkansas Department of the Navy
The USS Little Rock remains undamaged, according to the Navy, although the ship has undergone some minor repairs — unrelated to the ice — since it left Marinette.
“When the ice clears, we will be ready to go,” Hillson said.
Former Navy Secretary Ray Maybus, who visited the Marinette shipyard during construction of littoral combat ships, made the decision to have USS Little Rock commissioned in Buffalo.
The commissioning took place at the Buffalo and Erie County Naval & Military Park, adjacent to the old USS Little Rock, which is docked there as a museum ship.
It was the first time in the U.S. Navy’s history that a new ship was commissioned alongside its namesake, according to the event's organizers.
The ship left Buffalo later then expected because of poor weather.
The Navy wasn’t aware that temperatures in Montreal would drop so much, so fast, according to Hillson, adding that ships in previous years have made it through the St. Lawrence Seaway in early December.
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At some point, USS Little Rock will join other littoral combat ships, including USS Milwaukee and USS Detroit, at their home port in Florida.
More of the warships are in various stages of construction in Marinette, while a different version is being built in Mobile, Ala.
The work, which has supported thousands of jobs in Wisconsin, is expected to last through at least 2021.
The fast vessels, powered by jet propulsion, are aimed at a variety of missions from maritime interception to humanitarian assistance. But the ships have come under scrutiny for cost overruns and mechanical breakdowns.