U.S. Frigate Will Be Shipped Home
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WASHINGTON — The mine-damaged U.S. Navy frigate Samuel B. Roberts will be shipped back to the United States from the Persian Gulf aboard a heavy-lift commercial transport ship, the Pentagon said on Wednesday.
Pentagon officials said damage from the mine, which ripped a nine-foot hole in the Roberts on April 14, was extensive enough to warrant the shipment instead of allowing the frigate to sail home under its own power.
The Navy said a contract will be awarded in the next few days to a commercial shipping company to carry the Roberts to the Bath Iron Works in Maine for repairs.
The United States said the mine which damaged the Roberts and injured 10 sailors was laid by Iran, and American naval forces on April 18 launched a retaliatory attack on two Iranian oil rigs in the gulf.
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