United Defense Industries announced that NORSHIPCO has signed an agreement to to purchase Metro Machine Corp's 14,000-ton dry dock known as "Old Dominion."
The dock, expected to be operational by the end of May, will be relocated to NORSHIPCO and placed in an area previously occupied by a similar size dock, which was retired two years ago. The agreement provides additional opportunities for the exchange of work and dry dock utilization.
The acquisition of the dock positions NORSHIPCO as a stronger competitor in the U.S. Navy, Military Sealift Command (MSC), and
commercial ship repair markets. The added dry dock capacity
affords NORSHIPCO the opportunity to pursue additional areas of work, which could lead to more level-loading of the yard's skilled workforce.
NORSHIPCO's workers specialize in the repair and modernization of Naval vessels and various cruise and commercial cargo fleets.
The addition of Old Dominion to NORSHIPCO's existing dry docking capabilities, including the 950-ft. TITAN dock, with displacement capacity of 52,000 tons, also allows the company to service nearly all of the U.S. Navy's non-nuclear ships and a significant number of the world's commercially operated vessels.