This Is How The U.S. Coast Guard Replaces Its Largest Ship's Motor (Photo-Gallery)

Photo: U.S. Coast Guard 

Jalopnik: The Way The U.S. Coast Guard Replaces Its Largest Ship's Motor Is Mind-Blowing 

A fire broke out on the United States Coast Guard’s largest ship last summer, destroying one of the vessel’s enormous electric motors. Now the Coast Guard, one of the five service branches of the U.S. military, is replacing that motor and documenting the entire process, which involves cutting a giant hole in the hull. The whole thing is fascinating. Check it out. 

The USCGC Healy is the biggest and most advanced ship in the Coast Guard’s fleet, capable of breaking 4.5 feet of ice at three knots, and it’s equipped with over 4,000 square feet of laboratory space. On August 18, during an Arctic research mission, a fire broke out and ruined a propulsion motor, forcing the research ship to return to Washington State. The Coast Guard breaks down what happened in its memo: 

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WNU Editor: That's one big job just to remove one large electric motor.