Story highlights The USS Zumwalt, the Navy's most advanced and expensive destroyer, is now awaiting repairs in Panama

The over 4$B ship was commissioned last month

Washington (CNN) Just weeks after its debut, the Navy's most technologically advanced destroyer, the USS Zumwalt, has been put out of action due to engineering problems that occurred while it was crossing the Panama Canal.

"The timeline for repairs is being determined now," US Navy Cmdr. Ryan Perry said in a statement to CNN.

Perry noted that the commander of the US Third Fleet, Vice Adm. Nora Tyson, directed the ship to remain at ex-Naval Station Rodman in Panama to determine what caused the malfunction.

Photos: USS Zumwalt begins sea trials Photos: USS Zumwalt begins sea trials The USS Zumwalt, the Navy's biggest and most expensive destroyer ever built, heads out into the Atlantic Ocean on Monday, December 7. The ship is out at sea for the first time to undergo sea trials. Hide Caption 1 of 7 Photos: USS Zumwalt begins sea trials The USS Zumwalt leaves the Kennebec River in Phippsburg, Maine, on December 7. The ship and its class are named in honor of Adm. Elmo R. "Bud" Zumwalt Jr., who served as chief of naval operations from 1970 to 1974. Hide Caption 2 of 7 Photos: USS Zumwalt begins sea trials Deputy Defense Secretary Bob Work speaks with the Zumwalt crew during a visit to Bath Iron Works in Bath, Maine, on May 12. Work toured the ship and observed its progress. One thing that sets the $3 billion ship apart is its very small crew. Compared with about 300 sailors needed for similar warships, the Zumwalt's minimum compliment is only 130. The smaller crew is made possible by advanced automated systems which "make it much easier and much more effective for the sailor to operate," says former Navy Capt. Wade Knudson, who now serves as Zumwalt program director for Pentagon contractor, Raytheon. Hide Caption 3 of 7 Photos: USS Zumwalt begins sea trials Mouzetta Zumwalt-Weathers christens the Zumwalt during a ceremony at Bath Iron Works on April 12, 2014. Hide Caption 4 of 7 Photos: USS Zumwalt begins sea trials The ship is floated out of dry dock at the Bath Iron Works shipyard on October 28, 2013. Hide Caption 5 of 7 Photos: USS Zumwalt begins sea trials The 1,000-ton deckhouse is craned toward the deck of the ship to be integrated with the its hull at Bath Iron Works on December 14, 2012. Hide Caption 6 of 7 Photos: USS Zumwalt begins sea trials Retired Marine Corps Lt. Col. James G. Zumwalt, left, assists welder Carl Pepin as he inscribes a steel plate at a keel laying ceremony at Bath Iron Works on Thursday, November 17, 2011. Hide Caption 7 of 7

The issue occurred Monday while the Zumwalt was on its way to its new homeport of San Diego where it was to join the US Third Fleet, which is responsible for the Pacific Ocean.

USS Zumwalt Displacement: 15,995 metric tons Length: 610 feet Beam: 80.7 feet Draft: 27.6 feet Sustained speed: 30 knots Crew: 147 plus 28-person aviation detachment Armaments: 80 Advanced Vertical Launch System cells, 2 155 millimeter Advanced Gun System (AGS), 2 30 millimeter Close In Guns Source: US Navy

The ship is thought to be the most advanced destroyer ever built.

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