The submarine tender USS Frank Cable returned to Naval Base Guam on Oct. 6, 2023, after nearly a year in dry dock for repairs and an overhaul. (Andrew McPeek/U.S. Navy)
The USS Frank Cable is back at work supporting submarines and other Navy ships on Guam following a yearlong overhaul on the U.S. mainland that cost nearly $38 million.
The submarine tender spent the past year at Mare Island Dry Dock in Vallejo, Calif., where it “received several ship repairs and upgrades to reinforce its long-term mission readiness,” the Navy said in an Oct. 12 news release.
The Frank Cable — one of two submarine tenders maintained by the Navy — is considered the “anchor” of sub maintenance in the Indo-Pacific, according to the Navy. It’s responsible for “repairing, rearming and resupplying” submarines operating in the region, the release said.
The other tender, the USS Emory S. Land, is also based on Guam.
Submarine Force Pacific operates fast-attack, ballistic and guided-missile submarines throughout the region. Missions include surveillance, intelligence, deterrence and, if called upon, nuclear strikes, according to the command’s website.
Sailors assigned to USS Frank Cable man the rails as the submarine tender returns to its homeport in Apra Harbor, Guam, Oct. 6, 2023. (Kaitlyn Eads/U.S. Navy)
The Frank Cable and Emory S. Land primarily support Los Angeles-class fast-attack submarines but can provide “nearly any service a submarine or surface ship may require,” according to Submarine Force Pacific.
They’re equipped with maintenance, repair, fabrication and service shops and “an engineering plant similar to that of a small town,” the command said.
While in dry dock, the Frank Cable’s crew trained to “get into the repair mindset,” according to Chief Petty Officer Ryan Magee, a hull technician.
“I know I speak for the whole crew when I say we are all very excited to be back in Guam,” he said in the news release. “It’s been a long time since we have been at our homeport, and it’s wonderful to see our families and friends.”
The Emory S. Land completed its yearlong, $33.5 million overhaul at Mare Island in spring 2021.
With nearly 45 years of service under their belt, the Navy plans to replace the Emory S. Land and Frank Cable in the coming years.
Few details about the new ships have been released, but at least three companies — L3Harris, General Dynamics National Steel and Shipbuilding Company and Huntington Ingalls Industries — are working on concepts and designs for them, Naval News reported Aug. 1, 2022.
