More teething problems on USS Zumwalt, the US Navy’s newest, most advanced and most expensive destroyer. While transiting the Panama Canal, the ship lost propulsion on its port shaft. Two of the four bearings that connect the ship’s port and starboard electric motors to the drive shafts were reported to be leaking. Both of the shafts locked and tugs were called to help complete the passage through the canal.

In September, USS Zumwalt, suffered a similar failure resulting in a seawater leak in the propulsion motor drive lube oil auxiliary system which sidelined the ship for repairs.

During the most recent casualty, USS Zumwalt brushed the canal wall. This is the second time within a month that a US Navy ship has had issues with a Panana Canal transit. Recently, the Littoral Combat Ship USS Montgomery struck a center lock wall and sustained an 18-inch-long crack in her hull. Fortunately, the damage to the USS Zumwalt was reported to be cosmetic. 

Earlier this month we posted about changes being made to USS Zumwalt’s weapons. The ship was designed to fire the Long Range Land Attack Projectile (LRLAP), a GPS guided round with a range of 60 miles. The Navy has come to the realization that the cost of the LRLAP, now $800,000 each and expected to increase, is simply too expensive to fire.