The sailor charged with starting the fire that destroyed the amphibious assault ship USS Bonhomme Richard was a Navy SEAL washout who was disgruntled about being assigned to the ship, the prosecutor in the court martial for Seaman Apprentice Ryan Sawyer Mays, the Associated Press reports.

In the opening day of the trial, prosecutors outlined a number of statements and actions Mays made in the days prior to the fire, which destroyed the ship.   The Navy ultimately decided to scuttle the ship because the $3.2 billion repair and replacement cost was more expensive than completely replacing the ship and equipment.

Shipmates say Mays was arrogant from his time at SEAL training, thinking he was better than doing “deck duty,” which includes cleaning the deck and picking up trash on the ship.  Witnesses said in the days prior to the fire, Mays swore at a superior.

In July 2020, alarms on the ship went off as a fire below decks quickly spread after an explosion while the ship was in dock at Naval Base San Diego.  It took fire crews from the Navy, the local base, and civilian resources five days to get the fire under control.

Navy officials said that because a portion of the crew was on leave only around 160 sailors were on board when the fire started.  The ship’s fire suppression system had been disabled because of the work planned for the vessel.  Sixty one people were hospitalized as a result of the fire, and eight members of the ship’s crew were promoted for valorous actions for fighting the fire.