The amphibious assault ship USS Boxer is again heading west on a deployment with the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit after three months of repairs to its rudder.
The ship was seen this week refueling in San Diego Bay with its flight deck filled with Marine aircraft. It left Tuesday.
San Diego-based Expeditionary Strike Group 3 confirmed the ship resumed its deployment in a statement Thursday.
"Following a successful operational test of its rudders, Wasp-class amphibious assault ship USS Boxer (LHD 4) departed San Diego for a deployment in July 2024," said Navy spokesperson Lt. Cmdr. Chloe Morgan. "Elements of the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) are embarked aboard Boxer for the deployment."
The Boxer first left San Diego in April for deployment but damage to one of its rudders forced the ship to turn around and return.
On July 3, the ship went to sea to test its repaired rudder. Those tests, the Navy said, were successful.
Other Marines from the 15th MEU have been deployed for most of the year on the San Diego-based amphibious ships USS Somerset and USS Harpers Ferry.
It's the Boxer's first deployment since 2019. The ship began a two-year, $250 million overhaul and refit in 2020. When it came out of the shipyard in 2022 it went to sea for a short amount of time but had engine problems.
It would remain pier side at Naval Base San Diego for more than a year afterward.
Navy investigations into issues on the Boxer found problems with contractors in the shipyard led to bad parts being installed. The replacement parts were also defective, the investigation found.
More issues surfaced in 2023 when members of the ship's engineering department rotated one of the ship's propeller shafts without any lubricating oil.
