Welcome set for damaged Navy ship as it arrives for repairs

19/1/2018 11:40

        Mississippi residents are being encouraged to come out and wave flags as a damaged U.S. Navy destroyer arrives for repairs. The USS Fitzgerald, damaged in a June collision off Japan that killed seven sailors, is scheduled to arrive Friday morning in Pascagoula, Mississippi. The ship will be repaired at Ingalls Shipbuilding, one of the largest American naval shipyards. The unit of Virginia-based Huntington Ingalls Industries announced the Fitzgerald's approach Thursday. The Fitzgerald's arrival comes after the Navy announced Tuesday that it's seeking negligent homicide charges against four officers of the Fitzgerald at the time of the collision, including the then-commanding officer, Cmdr. Bryce Benson. The June 17 collision with a Philippine-flagged container ship caved in the ship above and below the waterline. Water gushed into berthing compartments, killing the sailors.