WASHINGTON — The US Navy has restricted the operations of its three newest submarines — including one placed in commission just last Saturday — pending inspections and repairs to a key steam plant component.
At issue are problems found with elbows in 10-inch pipes that funnel steam from the reactor plant to the propulsion turbines. Elbows are installed in piping to get around corners and other obstructions.
The problems, said a senior Navy official, were detected earlier this year, prompting a civil investigative demand leading to an investigation begun in April. A fleet message restricting operations of the three submarines was sent Aug. 5, and congressional authorities were notified the same day.
Rory O'Connor, a spokesman for the Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) in Washington, said the problems affect the submarines Minnesota, North Dakota and John Warner. He described the situation late Wednesday in a statement:
"As part of an ongoing investigation into a quality control issue with a supplier, General Dynamics Electric Boat (GDEB) determined that three steam pipe elbows supplied by the vendor in question required additional testing and repair due to unauthorized and undocumented weld repairs having been performed on these elbows.
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