The US Navy’s Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69) (Ike) has concluded the Board of Inspection and Survey (INSURV) material inspections (MI).
The inspection marks the first INSURV conducted on IKE in a span of ten years and 1,400 operational days at the sea.
INSURV is an effort to inspect and assess the material readiness of the ships and ascertain the functionality of the systems in accordance to the requirements of the Navy.
The US Congress had specified scenarios for conducting an INSURV on the Navy ships which include the ship’s return from a foreign station; an inspection after every three years of the ship’s operational period; to ascertain the operational ability of the ship and on occasions when it is declared unfit by the naval vessel register.
The programme encompasses eight functional areas ranging from habitability to material readiness.
INSURV involves inspectors monitoring how the crew conducts preventative maintenance; identify discrepancies and the steps they adopt to fix it.
The four-day inspection programme also executes a zone inspection programme to assume the responsibility for the equipment and spaces of the vessel.
The 332.85m-long USS Dwight D. Eisenhower has a displacement capacity of 9,7000t, is propelled by two nuclear reactors and can achieve a speed of more than 30k.
The carrier can accommodate a crew of 3,200 and is equipped with two Mk 29 Nato Sea Sparrow launchers and two rolling airframe missile (RAM) systems.
Image: Sailors inspect self-contained breathing apparatus bottles and masks. Photo: courtesy of US Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Anderson W. Branch / Released.
