The BAM Cuitlahuac/USS John Rodgers no longer belongs to the Mexican Navy. She's back under the US flag, as the property of the Beauchamp Tower Corporation.

Here she is getting ready to leave her berth at the naval base.

This has been a long time coming - I know we thought we'd have her here in September or October but three things intervened.

1. Bureaucrats in two governments.

2. The loss of an investor (paying for the tow, not that it mattered short term because of item 1)

3. The Mexican elections.

When I say bureaucrats, I should be clear that does not include the Mexican Navy, who have been consummate professionals during this process.

DD574 has been made ready for her transit of the canal, and arrangements are being finalized for her trip back to the US Gulf Coast.

Here's something that's not been seen in a while - a Fletcher-class destroyer on the move. She may not be moving under her own power... but she's feeling the water move around her hull in ways it hasn't in 7 years.

Inbound to her new berth - it almost looks like shes moving on her own.

That said - we've still got one big hurdle.

There's still one set of government bureaucrats to push the final paperwork through. The ones in the US.

And I apologize to those of you who I was sending emails to about updates - I've lost the addresses.