Qualla: 2009 USS Port Royal Grounding

2009 USS Port Royal Grounding: Introduction

Thu, 12 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Passengers landing at Honolulu International Airport on the evening of February 5, 2009, could look out their windows and see something that should not have been there: a 567-foot guided missile cruiser sitting motionless on a coral reef, half a mile south of the runway. USS Port Royal, one of the Navy's most capable warships, had just run hard aground in 14 to 22 feet of water. Her draft was 33 feet. The investigation that followed revealed a cascade of failures -- a broken depth sounder, a misread navigation system, a sleep-deprived commanding officer, and a bridge team that nobody trusted to speak up.

2009 USS Port Royal Grounding: A Navigation System Talking to Itself

Thu, 12 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Port Royal had just completed $18 million in scheduled repairs at the Pearl Harbor shipyard and departed that morning for open-ocean sea trials. From the start, the ship was operating with known deficiencies: the fathometer, which measures water depth beneath the hull, was broken...

2009 USS Port Royal Grounding: Four Days on the Reef

Thu, 12 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

No one was injured and no fuel spilled in the initial grounding, but getting Port Royal off the reef proved far harder than running her onto it. Over three consecutive days, the salvage ship made unsuccessful attempts to pull the cruiser free, even as full-moon high tides offered...

2009 USS Port Royal Grounding: The Cost Below the Waterline

Thu, 12 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

The damage extended in two directions. For the ship, the bow sonar dome was destroyed, propellers and propeller shafts were wrecked, and the superstructure was cracked. Port Royal entered Dry Dock Number 4 at Pearl Harbor on February 18. The Navy estimated repairs at $25 to $40 m...

2009 USS Port Royal Grounding: Consequences and Confidence

Thu, 12 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

In June 2009, Vice Admiral Samuel J. Locklear imposed non-judicial punishment on Captain Carroll for dereliction of duty and improper hazarding of a vessel. The executive officer and two additional officers received discipline, along with one enlisted sailor. The Navy declined to...