Washington, DC - The Navy announced that the guided-missile destroyer USS Fitzgerald (DDG 62) will be changing homeport from Yokosuka, Japan to Pascagoula, Mississippi effective December 15 in support of repairs following the collision with Merchant Vessel ACX Crystal off the coast of Japan on June 17.

The Navy previously announced that it intends to award a contract initiating the restoration of USS Fitzgerald at Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) in Pascagoula, Mississippi, before the end of the fiscal year.

The start date, scope, cost and the time required to fully restore the ship have not yet been determined.

The Navy chose this course of action following a review of the capabilities and workload of new construction and repair shipyards. Given the complexity of the work and the significant unknowns of the restoration, the Navy determined that only an Arleigh Burke-class shipbuilder could perform the effort. Only HII has the available capacity to restore USS Fitzgerald to full operational status in the shortest period of time with minimal disruption to ongoing repair and new construction work.

The Navy awarded a contract for the heavy lift of USS Fitzgerald to Patriot Shipping, based out of Houston, Texas. Heavy-lift will be completed by November 2017.