USN awards $1.7 billion Portsmouth Naval Shipyard expansion contract
USS Virginia successfully exits dry dock at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard. (Photo: USN.)
Works will improve the Maine shipyard's ability to support USN attack submarines.
US Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command (NAVFAC), on 13 August, awarded a $1.7 billion contract for the expansion and reconfiguring of a dry-dock complex at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard.
The works will increase the shipyard's capacity to maintain, modernise and repair US attack submarines.
The seven-year project, part of the USN's broader Shipyard Infrastructure Optimisation Program (SIOP), will see Nebraska-based 381 Constructors build an 'addition to Dry Dock 1', new concrete floors, pump systems, caissons and other mechanical and electrical systems.
Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) Commander VADM William Galinis said: 'Our naval shipyards need these major modernisation efforts to sustain our ability to maintain our nuclear submarine fleet.
'The navy needs combat-ready ships and submarines to go where they're needed, when they're needed, and these major upgrades and reconfigurations at our naval shipyards will enable the fleet to meet its future missions.'
An initial $70 million of funding has already been allocated, with the rest to be incrementally released.
SIOP is a joint NAVSEA, NAVFAC and Commander, Navy Installations Command effort to modernise infrastructure at the USN's four public shipyards: Norfolk Naval Shipyard, Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility, and Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility.
You may also like
More from Naval Warfare
-
![US Coast Guard enhances Arctic protection with a new Fast Response Cutter]()
US Coast Guard enhances Arctic protection with a new Fast Response Cutter
After commissioning, FRC Frederick Mann will operate in Alaska and perform multiple missions.
-
![US Coast Guard announces measures to further implement Force Design 2028 strategy]()
US Coast Guard announces measures to further implement Force Design 2028 strategy
The US Coast Guard (USCG) created new units, including five Programme Executive Offices (PEOs), to facilitate and speed up the procurement of new capabilities.
-
![Future of the US Navy’s Arleigh Burke programme remains unclear]()
Future of the US Navy’s Arleigh Burke programme remains unclear
The US Navy does not have a precise date for the award of the procurement contract for the third Arleigh Burke-class destroyer despite having the funds to advance with the programme in FY2025.
-
![US Navy may look to foreign suppliers to accelerate shipbuilding programmes]()
US Navy may look to foreign suppliers to accelerate shipbuilding programmes
The US Navy (USN) is currently reassessing its acquisition efforts and seeking ways to reduce the multiple delays across the shipbuilding initiatives.
-
![Italy orders two ships as work begins on others along with deliveries and updates]()
Italy orders two ships as work begins on others along with deliveries and updates
The Italian Navy is being refreshed with two new ships ordered, while in the past six months steel was cut for a new frigate, an enhanced frigate was delivered and Horizon-class frigates passed a design review.
