The Fort Worth, a littoral ship from San Diego, broke down while in port in Singapore after someone failed to put enough oil in the gears.

The ship has been deployed to Asia since November 2014, and San Diego-based crews rotate in to operate it.

The Navy’s new littoral ships have seen their share of mechanical problems, but the Fort Worth -- the third ship in the line -- has been a “model of reliability” until now, according to Navy officials.

The Navy’s Pacific Fleet issued a statement on Thursday saying that Fort Worth experienced a “casualty” in the ship’s combining gears, which are attached to the main propulsion diesel engines.


Navy officials said they don’t know how long it will take to fix the issue. An investigation of the Jan. 12 incident is underway.

“The casualty appears to be caused by a failure to follow established procedures during maintenance,” said Lt. Cmdr. Matthew Knight, a Pacific Fleet spokesman.

“Casualties involving watchstanding procedures are rare. Our LCS crews are well-trained and familiar with this LCS variant. We have the right resources in place to conduct the necessary inspections, determine the extent of the damage and required repairs, and return Fort Worth back to operational status.”

Here’s what happened, according to people familiar with the problem:


As the main engines were started as part of operational testing in Singapore, lube oil wasn’t supplied to the ship’s combining gears. Why? An apparent failure to follow standard procedures. The lack of oil set off high temperature alarms on the port and starboard combining gears.