USS Anzio: Showcase for New Technology

The guided missile cruiser USS Anzio (CG 68) continues to be a Fleet showcase for engineering improvements developed by the Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA). During the last 15 months, Anzio received four varied and innovative new technologies from NAVSEA. These include the S4 stainless steel head, magnetic couplings, gas barrier seals for fuel oil pumps, and cloth ventilation vent filters. Completing a successful tour as Anzio's commanding officer, Capt. Mark Nesselrode praised the new technologies. "Each of them has performed beyond my expectations," he said. "They are nothing short of spectacular." The S4 head is part of NAVSEA's Maintenance Process Improvement program, which incorporates more than 20 different initiatives, all of which have the goal of reducing Sailor workload. The S4 is a complete sanitary space refurbishment that replaces current porcelain with high-performance maintenance and corrosion-free stainless steel components and fixtures. Importantly, it reduces the time Sailors must spend cleaning them in half. With Anzio currently having two S4's installed, one in 1st Division and in one in Engineering, Nesselrode said he would outfit the entire ship if given the opportunity. "The heads are probably the hardest," said Nesselrode. "They are expensive, but having to rework all the heads for a carrier during my tour as engineer, then finding out that within one deployment, almost all the heads had to be reworked says that something needs to be done. We save more by a good installation that can be maintained and is a bit more impervious to heat, humidity, and hard use than just redoing the heads every avail." The magnetic coupling installed on Anzio's number 1 seawater service (SWS) pump, the ship's workhorse pump, also performed superbly. Magnetic couplings use two precision-machined aluminum rotors and high-energy magnets to transmit torque through air. Since the pump and motor never come in contact with each other, even with the pump running 24/7 for 18 months, the pumps and bearing have shown little, if any, decline in performance. If possible, Nesselrode says he would have magnetic couplings installed on all SWS pumps as well as any other water system pump. After 15 months with no leaks, Nesselrode sees the gas barrier seals as a "godsend." (Source: NAVSEA Newswire)