Newport News’ Sunken Fireboat

A brand new fireboat, awaiting final modifications by the manufacturer prior to delivery, sinks at the dock.  Newport News VA, the city where they make aircraft carriers, paid 385,000 dollars for a fireboat that acts like a fire submarine.

From the AP here:

The city’s $385,000, state-of-the-art fire boat sank Wednesday, still tied up at a dock and without ever being put to use.
 
The boat, moored at a marina by the James River Bridge, was discovered with its stern sitting on the river bottom and the bow sticking up out of the water. Investigators had not yet determined the cause of the sinking.

The fire department had not even taken ownership of the 33-foot boat because it was waiting for the manufacturer, MetalCraft Marine of Canada, to finish installing electronic equipment, department spokeswoman Dana Perry said.

The most frequent cause of boats sinking at the dock?  Someone left the water on.  Second most common cause is fire.  But given that the boat is designed to pump water from the river to spray through a firenozzle, I will go with a valve left open.  Someone is going to get fired over this. 

And why does the shipbuilding capital need to go to Canada to get a boat?