Frigate Crippled by Mine in Gulf Ready For Piggyback Ride to U.S.
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DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — A mine-crippled U.S. frigate was towed out of dry dock Saturday to begin a long voyage home from the Persian Gulf--riding piggyback on a giant salvage ship.
Shipping sources said it would cost tens of millions of dollars to make the frigate Samuel B. Roberts seaworthy again.
The 3,585-ton frigate was nearly sunk by a mine blast off Qatar on April 14. The incident sparked a fierce naval battle that ended with the U.S. Navy knocking out six Iranian vessels.
The Roberts, a 30-foot hole in its hull patched up, was towed out of Dubai dry dock toward a mother ship to be carried home to Newport, R.I., for more repairs.
The mother ship, the Dutch cargo vessel Mighty Servant II, was waiting 30 miles offshore.
Shipping sources said its deck had been submerged so that the 453-foot-long frigate could be floated onto it.
The deck would then be raised back above sea level and the Mighty Servant II, designed to carry ships, would return to Dubai for the frigate to be secured in place with welding and scaffolding.
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