BAE Systems has been awarded a contract by Maersk Line, Limited for the drydocking and preservation of the USNS Soderman (T-AKR 317), one of nineteen Military Sealift Command (MSC) Large, Medium-Speed Roll-on/Roll-off (LMSR) Ships. The 55-day work package will begin in mid-September and is valued at $9.3 million, not including options. All work will take place at BAE Systems Ship Repair in Norfolk.
BAE Systems will conduct drydocking and underwater work on the Soderman, including maintenance and repairs to propulsion systems and machinery, and preservation of the vessel’s hull, tanks and topside areas.
Additionally, the contract includes ship security upgrades, ship-specific voyage repairs and general maintenance and repairs to machinery, valves, pumps, and structural components, along with electrical and piping systems.
The Soderman, which Maersk Line, Limited operates for MSC, is the fourth MSC ship BAE Systems Ship Repair has worked on since May. Repairs on the USNS Arctic, MSC’s fast combat support ship, and USNS Kanawha, a fleet replenishment oiler, are currently ongoing. The vessels are due to depart the shipyard in September and October respectively. The company also completed the overhaul of another MSC LMSR, USNS Brittin, in July.
LMSRs are among the largest cargo ships in the world and can carry up to 380,000 square feet of combat cargo -- the equivalent of more than six football fields of wheeled and tracked vehicles -- at speeds up to 24 knots. They are equipped with on-board ramps and cranes to assist in loading oversized cargo including helicopters, M1A1 tanks and Bradley Combat Systems vehicles.
BAE Systems Ship Repair is the United States’ leading non-nuclear ship repair, modernization and conversion company – focused on dry dock and ship repair services for the U.S. Navy, other defense agencies and commercial customers. It has major operations in Norfolk, San Diego, San Francisco and Hawaii.