The sail away reflects an effort worth more than two years to restore and modernize one of the most capable warships on the Navy after it was damaged during a 2017 collision that claimed the lives of seven sailors.

“Today the ‘Fighting Fitz’ is returning to the Pacific Fleet as one of our nation’s most capable warfighting platforms, marking a significant step in her return to warfighting readiness,” said Rear Adm. Eric Ver Hage, director, Surface Ship Maintenance and Modernization and commander, Navy Regional Maintenance Center.

Various repairs to Hull, Mechanical and Electrical (HM&E), Combat System (CS) and Command, Control , Communications, Computers and Intelligence (C5I) were completed to restore the impacted spaces to full operations and functionality. Such repairs ranged from partial to full space rehabilitation to repairing equipment such as the radar and electronic warfare suite.

Owing to the degree and scope of the restoration, the repair and renovation activities were carried out using both repair and new construction procedures. The U.S. during this period of restoration Navy made it a priority to ensure Fitzgerald 's readiness to contribute to an agile and diverse fleet returned to a peak state of warfare.

“Completing repairs and upgrades to Fitzgerald was only possible because of the outstanding teamwork between the government and industry teams over the last 2 1/2 years.  My thanks go out to everyone involved in making sure the ship is ready, and I’m especially proud of my crew’s hard work ensuring we are trained and prepared to take our ship back to sea,” said Cmdr. Scott Wilbur, commanding officer of Fitzgerald.

Before departing for San Diego from Pascagoula, Fitzgerald's crew started a pre-movement sequester on May 23 in accordance with U.S. Guidelines for Navy pre-deployment — compliance with guidelines for Navy and CDC is critical to minimizing COVID-19 spread.

Maritime Business World