PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii – Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard & Intermediate Maintenance Facility (PHNSY & IMF) successfully undocked the Los Angeles-class fast-attack submarine USS Topeka (SSN 754) on-time commencing a two-day evolution on July 27.
This undocking is a major milestone in the submarine’s docking selected restricted availability (DSRA). Each undocking is a complex evolution that requires teamwork across the entire shipyard to ensure a safe and on time event.
“Successfully executing Topeka’s undocking means we’re closer to sending her back to the fleet fit to fight,” said Shipyard Commander Captain Richard Jones. “I had no doubt our extremely capable shipyard team and ship’s crew would successfully bring us to this milestone and execute it with professionalism and precision. This continued teamwork will allow us to finish strong and get Topeka back underway and on mission.”
A Los Angeles-class DSRA is a minor maintenance availability that is characterized as a short, labor-intensive availability in which components throughout the submarine are replaced, repaired, overhauled, or modernized to ensure the submarine is operating at full technical capacity and mission capability.
Topeka has been undergoing maintenance at PHNSY & IMF since January 2021. The ship’s DSRA will require approximately 109,295 man-days of work to complete all required maintenance, modernizations and certifications necessary to return the ship to the fleet.
The shipyard project team and ship’s crew will complete Topeka’s DSRA pier side ahead of certifying the ship for unrestricted operations. Once complete, Topeka will return to the fleet as one of the most advanced Los Angeles-class submarines in the world.
As with each depot-level availability, completing these complex maintenance projects in a safe and timely manner require experts across the shipyard such as project management personnel, contracting specialists, quality assurance technicians, engineers, shop and waterfront mechanics, docking officials and private industry working in sync and alongside the ship’s crew to achieve each milestone safely and on time.
Commissioned Oct. 21, 1989, Topeka is the third United States ship to bear the name in honor of the city of Topeka, Kansas. Topeka is one of the most versatile weapons platforms ever placed in the world's oceans, capable of supporting a multitude of missions, including anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface ship warfare, strike, surveillance and reconnaissance.
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