The USNS Navajo, a 216-foot Powhatan-class fleet ocean tug, visited waters off the Kona Coast this week to conduct training.
The USNS Navajo, a 216-foot Powhatan-class fleet ocean tug, visited waters off the Kona Coast this week to conduct training.
The Navajo was here Wednesday and Thursday in support of the Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit 1, said U.S. Navy spokesman Bill Doughty. Divers were conducting routine and proficiency training in waters up to 120 feet deep off the Kona Coast.
Doughty said the ship arrived Wednesday and was slated to leave Thursday afternoon.
Fleet ocean tugs provide towing, diving and standby submarine rescue services to the Navy’s numbered fleet commanders, according to the U.S. Navy.
The Navajo has been in the news before. On July 28, 2012, the vessel lost its anchor and dropped more than 8,000 pounds of anchor, chain and heavy rope onto the seafloor near the Pearl Harbor entrance during Rim of the Pacific exercises, according to The Associated Press.
Navy officials said at the time no coral was damaged in the incident. The anchor was recovered by mid-August.