Amphibious Transport Dock
LPD 18 - USS New Orleans
		USS New Orleans (LPD 18)
Type, Class:		Amphibious Transport Dock (LPD); San Antonio-class;
Builder:		Northrop Grumman Ship Systems, Avondale Division, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
STATUS:		Awarded: December 18, 1998 Laid down: October 14, 2002 Launched: December 11, 2004 Commissioned: March 10, 2007 ACTIVE UNIT / in commission (Pacific Fleet)
Homeport:		Naval Base San Diego, California
Namesake:		named after and in honor of the City of New Orleans, Louisiana
Ship's Motto:		VICTORY FROM THE SEA
Technical Data: (Measures, Propulsion, Armament, Aviation, etc.)		see: INFO >> Amphibious Transport Dock / San Antonio - class
LINKS:		Official US Navy site
ship images
San Diego, California – August 1, 2009
USS New Orleans (LPD 18), USS Boxer (LHD 4) and USS Comstock (LSD 45) underway in the Pacific Ocean – July 25, 2009
USS New Orleans (LPD 18), USS Boxer (LHD 4) and USS Comstock (LSD 45) underway in the Pacific Ocean – July 25, 2009
Pacific Ocean – July 25, 2009
USS Boxer (LHD 4) and USS New Orleans (LPD 18) underway in the Pacific Ocean – July 25, 2009
Sasebo, Japan – July 7, 2009
South China Sea – July 2, 2009
South China Sea – July 2, 2009
USNS Tippecanoe (T-AO 199) and USS New Orleans during replenishment at sea (RAS) – South China Sea – July 2, 2009
Gulf of Aden – May 28, 2009
in dry dock – May 2009
Bahrain – March 21, 2009
Bahrain – March 21, 2009
Pacific Ocean – November 4, 2008
Landing Craft Utility (LCU-1666) in the well deck – Pacific Ocean – February 22, 2008
Lighter amphibious resupply craft (LARC-V) in the well deck of USS San Antonio – February 19, 2008
San Diego, California – September 29, 2007
San Diego, California – May 3, 2007
San Diego Bay, California – May 3, 2007
New Orleans, Louisiana – April 3, 2007
USS New Orleans (LPD 18) during her commissioning ceremony – New Orleans, Louisiana – March 10, 2007
New Orleans, Louisiana – March 5, 2007
New Orleans, Louisiana – March 5, 2007
USS New Orleans leaves Avondale shipyard for commissioning – Mississippi River – March 5, 2007
New Orleans, Louisiana – October 23, 2006
Namesake & History:
USS New Orleans (LPD 18):
USS New Orleans is the second vessel in the LPD-17 class of high-tech amphibious assault ships, which ferry Marines and their equipment to and from war zones. The contract to build her was awarded on 18 December 1998 to Northrop Grumman Ship Systems of New Orleans, Louisiana, and her keel was laid down on 14 October 2002. She was christened on 20 November 2004, sponsored by Carolyn Shelton, the wife of General Henry H. Shelton, former Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff. The warship was actually launched three weeks later, on 11 December. She completed her Builder's Trials on 26 October 2006. New Orleans was commissioned on 10 March 2007 in New Orleans, Louisiana, two years behind schedule and 90 percent over budget. After commissioning, she steamed to San Diego, California via the Panama Canal to join the US Pacific Fleet. She arrived at her new homeport of Naval Base San Diego on 3 May 2007 and was assigned to Amphibious Squadron Five. After arriving in San Diego, New Orleans required 400,000 more man-hours of construction to bring it to fully operational status. Commander Scott Davies took command of the ship in June 2008. In August 2008, the ship failed its INSURV inspection. The INSURV inspectors documented 2,600 deficiencies, including problems with the steering system, broken ventilation fans, inoperable elevators, corrosion on the flight deck, and an unreliable propulsion system. "USS New Orleans was degraded in her ability to conduct sustained combat operations," the INSURV report said. "The ship cannot support embarked troops, cargo or landing craft." US Navy officials reported that 85% of the deficiencies were minor issues and that most of the deficiencies had already been corrected. On January 9, 2009, the "New Orleans" departed San Diego on its initial deployment, as part of a five-ship amphibious strike group that also included the USS Boxer and the USS Comstock. The Boxer strike group and the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit included more than 4,000 sailors and Marines. - March 20, 2009 - USS Hartford (SSN 768) collided with USS New Orleans (LPD 18) in the Strait of Hormuz, between Iran, the United Arab Emirates, and Musandam, an exclave of Oman. The collision occurred about 1:00 am local time (March 19, 2009). It inflicted minor injuries on 15 sailors on the Hartford and ruptured a fuel tank on the New Orleans, spilling 25,000 US gal (95,000 L) of diesel marine fuel. Both vessels continued on under their own power. The boats were traveling in the same direction and heading to port, with the Hartford submerged at the time of the collision. The Hartford is believed to have rolled about 85 degrees during the collision and sustained damage to its sail, periscope and port bow plane. There was no damage to the nuclear reactor. An inspection of New Orleans in Manama, Bahrain by Navy divers found a 16 by 18 feet (4.9 by 5.5 m) hole in the ship's hull, a ruptured fuel tank, and interior damage to two ballast tanks. The Navy announced April 14, 2009 that the submarine's skipper, Commander Ryan Brookhart, was relieved of duty by Rear Admiral Michael J. Connor because of a loss of confidence in Brookhart's ability to command. The Chief of the Boat, Master Chief Electronics Technician Stefan Prevot, was also relieved. Brookhart was replaced by Commander Chris Harkins, deputy commander of Submarine Squadron Eight. On April 19, the sub began a surface transit back to the US for further repair, arriving two months later. After reaching home port, the US Navy made three contracts with General Dynamics Electric Boat to repair the sub for a total of $102.6 million. The repairs included the installation of a hull patch and a bridge access trunk, along with a portside retractable bow plane and sail. New Orleans was repaired in the Middle-East for $2.3 million and returned to duty. On October 28, 2009 Submarine Force Commander Jay Donnelly explained that the primary cause of the collision was complacency and poor management on the part of Hartford's crew. Said Donnelly, "There was a great deal of complacency involved in the crew. They had been at sea for 63 days operating in areas with high contact density. There were a whole host of watchstanders that failed to recognize the sensor data that was presented to them."
patches
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