The Navy's newest warship has been stuck in Canada for weeks due to ice — and will stay there 'until wintery weather conditions improve'

pulse

January 19, 2018 8:56 PM

The USS Little Rock is the most recent warship to enter service with the US Navy and was scheduled to head to its home port in mid-December.

The USS Little Rock is the most recent warship to enter service with the US Navy.
It was scheduled to leave its commissioning ceremony and head to its home port in mid-December.
However, it has been stuck in Canada, waylaid by harsh winter weather, and it looks set to remain there for the foreseeable future.

The US Navy's newest commissioned warship, the littoral combat ship USS Little Rock, was commissioned in Buffalo on December 16 and scheduled to sail for its home port at Mayport Naval Station in Florida the next day.

But that departure was delayed three days by weather conditions on Lake Erie. It left Buffalo on December 20, and by December 27 it had reached Montreal, where it was scheduled to stop before heading on to Halifax in Nova Scotia.

But an exceptionally frigid winter has kept the Little Rock in Canada much longer than expected.

Because of ice on the water around the port and a lack of tug boats to guide the warship out, the Little Rock remained in port through January 11, Navy Lt. Cmdr. Courtney Hillson, public affairs officer for the US Naval Surface Force Atlantic, told Business Insider at the time.

The Little Rock is the most recent ship to enter service for the US Navy. It is the fifth Freedom-class littoral combat ship to join the fleet.

There are also five Independence-class littoral combat ships in service. The next Independence-class LCS, USS Omaha, is scheduled for commissioning on February 3.

pulse