The trouble-plagued USS Boxer has returned to San Diego after experiencing a new equipment problem during its first deployment in five years, according to media reports.
The amphibious assault ship carrying elements of the Camp Pendleton-based 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit had left April 1 but is now docked at North Island.
The U.S. Naval Institute, a nonprofit military association, said the latest problem is with the ship’s rudder and repairs will take two to three weeks.
“USS Boxer is returning to San Diego to undergo additional maintenance in support of its deployment in the Indo-Pacific region,” according to a statement obtained by USNI.
“USS Boxer will resume its deployment in the near future.”
Two other ships in the Boxer Read Group, the amphibious transport dock USS Somerset and the dock landing ship USS Harpers Ferry, are already deployed.
The Boxer last deployed in 2019 and then entered dry dock in 2020 for a $250 million overhaul. However, the warship was plagued by a series of equipment problems after the overhaul.
