Southwest Regional Maintenance Center Completes Its First-Ever Waterborne Rudder Overhaul on USS Rushmore

14 October 2021 This was the first-ever waterborne dock landing ship (LSD) rudder overhaul for SWRMC—this waterborne solution involved SWRMC engineers, divers, and waterfront operations team collaborating with industry partners from Epsilon and Bay City Marine. This project was an emergent work item and included work normally accomplished in a dry dock as part of a planned availability. It is typically a three-month work item under ideal conditions.

“The success of this unique evolution was undoubtedly due to the team’s hard work and dedication to the project,” said Capt. John Bauer, commanding officer, SWRMC. “SWRMC’s ability to team with engineers and contractors from across the enterprise resulted in a successful delivery and getting Rushmore back to the fleet.”

The project took approximately 10 weeks from start to finish including production work and sea trials.

“Full engagement across all of SWRMC coupled with the total unwavering support of leadership made this possible,” said John Tucker, SWRMC project manager. “We mobilized a team that gave us priority handling for funding, communication, and decision making. It was an unusual circumstance, but we had everyone pulling in the same direction to get the job done right.”

SWRMC is meeting its mission to provide superior ship maintenance, modernization, technical support, and training for the Pacific Fleet.

For more information on SWRMC, please visit https://www.navsea.navy.mil/Home/RMC/SWRMC.