NORFOLK NAVAL SHIPYARD

SECNAV Emphasizes Timely, Skilled Ship Maintenance

"We will continue to utilize our shipyards-both public and private-to maintain our ships in a readiness position," the Honorable Gordon R. England, Secretary of the Navy said in an interview recently in Norfolk. England noted that some vessels might not return from deployment on schedule, particularly in wartime, disrupting planned repairs. In a related area, he said, "We are fully funding our maintenance accounts, so we have our money for the first time in quite a few years." This funding, he added should keep public and private yards busy. "If you look at our workload for the next 4 or 5 years, we have a lot of work in our shipyards, and that's about the longest horizon you ever get." Secretary England pointed out the Navy has a peak repair workload scheduled, particularly on submarines, along with work on carriers. "Of course," he said, "we're now doing a lot of sailing, as so we have a lot of hours that we're putting on our vessels." "The U.S. Navy can reduce costs while effectively increasing its size by reducing the time its vessels are repaired in shipyards, and by returning them to sea more quickly," said Secretary England. He said that his prior visit to Norfolk Naval Shipyard in October, gave him a "great appreciation" for the work done by the shipyard and the good work being done by shipyard personnel. During this visit he saw waterfront repair facilities and visited the USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75), which is

New Hand at Helm of Norfolk Naval

The Daily Press has reported that Capt. Richard Berkey will lead the Portsmouth, Va., yard as Capt. Joseph Campbell heads to the Pentagon. Navy Capt. Richard D. Berkey assumed command of Norfolk Naval Shipyard on Friday, taking the helm from Capt. Joseph F. Campbell. The nuclear-capable shipyard, based in Portsmouth, performs maintenance jobs on both aircraft carriers and submarines. With about 7,700 employees, it is the second-largest shipyard in Hampton Roads behind Northrop Grumman

Alaska Scheduled to Change Homeports

USS Alaska (SSBN 732), a fleet ballistic submarine assigned to Submarine Group 10, is scheduled to change homeports to Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay, Ga. Alaska was previously assigned to Submarine Group 9 in Bangor, Wash., for 20 years and has been undergoing a 26 month refueling overhaul at Norfolk Naval Shipyard. Ballistic missile submarines conduct a major overhaul near the mid-point of the submarine's service life, approximately 20 years

Duratek Awarded Additional Scope On Contract

Duratek, Inc. announced that it was awarded a $1.36 million contract modification by Norfolk Naval Shipyard to provide processing and disposal of radioactively contaminated glovebox containments from Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program facilities over the next year. Duratek's government customer base includes U.S. Naval Shipyards, Department of Energy facilities, and other Department of Defense facilities. Robert E. Prince, President and CEO said

NNSY's Surge Main Stands Up

A group of 12 reserve Sailors became plank owners on Aug. 25 for initiating the Surge Main concept at Norfolk Naval Shipyard (NNSY), where they performed a number of deckplate repair functions - seamlessly and professionally - during their annual active duty training. “We were able to hit the ground running by drawing on lessons learned from related programs at Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard (and Intermediate Maintenance Facility)

Earl Industries Awarded $165.2M Navy Contract

Portsmouth, Va.- based Earl Industries,is being awarded a five year Multi-Ship Multi-Option (MSMO) cost-plus-award-fee contract with a total evaluated cost of $165.2M. An initial award amount of $39,106 is for the accomplishment of pre-production planning and procurement of long lead time material for repairs to the USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) fiscal 2007 Planned Incremental Availability. This contract covers work on four CVN-68 Class Aircraft Carriers

Navy Stern Flap Installations for Fuel Savings

The U.S. Navy began installing stern flaps in April on amphibious ships in an effort make ships more fuel efficient and save up to $450,000 in fuel costs per ship annually. USS Whidbey Island (LSD 41), the first dock landing ship to receive stern flaps, began the installation process mid-April during a scheduled maintenance availability in Norfolk, Va. The ship is expected to head back to sea in late November. "A stern flap, located on the aft end of a ship

Rear Admiral Dwyer Takes Helm of PEO Carriers

By JOC David Nagle, Naval Sea Systems Command Public Affairs Rear Adm. Dennis Dwyer relieved Rear Adm. Roland Knapp as Program Executive Officer (PEO) for Aircraft Carriers during a Change of Command ceremony on July 26 at the Washington Navy Yard. Dwyer, a Philadelphia native, leads the team responsible for the acquisition and development of aircraft carriers and air platforms of the future, as well as modernizing and upgrading the present carrier fleet to support the Chief of Naval

USS Charlotte Achieves Milestone During Under-Ice Transit

By Lt. j.g. Dave Ozeck, Commander, Submarine Force, U.S. Atlantic Fleet Public Affairs The improved-Los Angeles-class fast attack submarine USS Charlotte (SSN 766) arrived in Norfolk, Va., Nov. 29, following an historic transit that began in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and took the boat under the arctic ice cap. During the transit, Charlotte surfaced at the North Pole, ascending through 61 inches of ice - a record for a Los Angeles-class submarine.

Navy Contracts for Sub Conversion

The Navy awarded General Dynamics Electric Boat (GDEB) a cost reimbursement modification, valued at $162,359,000 for the conversion of the USS Georgia from an Ohio Class ballistic missile submarine (SSBN 729) to Ohio Class guided missile submarine (SSGN 729). "This contract modification represents the final contractual step in transforming the first four Ohio Class SSBNs into the most capable strike and Special Forces platform in the Navy," said Capt