Land Level Transfer Facility News

U.S. shipyards are making improvements to building ships for the Navy and Coast Guard today and in the future. In some cases, it means phasing out one class of ship and getting ready for the next. Or, it can be a drastic make-over.The yards include mid-tier yards all the way up to very large facilities devoted exclusively to warships. The ships range from the 353-ton Fast Response Cutter to the 100,000-ton nuclear-powered aircraft carriers. Fincantieri Marinette Marine in Wisconsin…

It is the newest and most transformational warship ever built, and yet it has also had the longest gestation period. Whether you call it new or old, you have to call it different. The pedigree for DDG 1000 is not from the Spruance or Arleigh Burke class of guided missile destroyers, but rather it comes from the SC-21 (Surface Combatant for the 21st century) concept from 1994. Like DDG 1000, SC-21 was not about anti-air warfare. It was all about strike. SC-21, along with the Maritime Fire Support Demonstrator (MFSD) “arsenal ship” concept…

It is the newest and most transformational warship ever built, and yet it has also had the longest gestation period. Whether you call it new or old, you have to call it different. The pedigree for DDG 1000 is not from the Spruance or Arleigh Burke class of guided missile destroyers, but rather it comes from the SC-21 (Surface Combatant for the 21st century) concept from 1994. Like DDG 1000, SC-21 was not about anti-air warfare. It was all about strike. SC-21, along with the Maritime Fire Support Demonstrator (MFSD) “arsenal ship” concept…

On December 14, 2012, General Dynamics Bath Iron Works, a subsidiary of General Dynamics (NYSE: GD), erected the composite deckhouse for Zumwalt (DDG 1000), the U.S. Navy’s next generation destroyer, and in the process achieved two new milestones in the company’s 128-year history:  a 900-ton, four-crane, static lift of the deckhouse module for DDG 1000, and a record-breaking movement of the ship and deckhouse on the shipyard’s Land Level Transfer Facility, the total combined weight of which exceeded 13,000 tons.

General Dynamics Bath Iron Works will christen the newest DDG 51 Class destroyer, MOMSEN (DDG 92) on Saturday, August 9 at its shipbuilding facility. DDG 92 is BIW's 23rd DDG 51 Class destroyer, and the second to be built at the shipyard's modernized land-level transfer facility. DDG 92 is named to honor Navy Vice Admiral Charles Bowers "Swede" Momsen, who rescued 33 crew members and then led the salvage of submarine USS SQUALUS after she sank in 240 feet of water in May 1939. He received commendation from President Franklin D. Roosevelt for these actions. Evelyn Momsen Hailey will christen the ship named for her father. The principal speaker for the event is Vice Admiral Albert H. Konetzni, Jr., Deputy and Chief of Staff, U.S. Atlantic Fleet.

The Navy will soon enter a new era of ship construction in Bath, Maine. The introduction of an innovative construction and launching platform brings some of the most modern warship building methods in the world to Bath Iron Works and the Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA). May 5 marks the first official use of what is known as the Land Level Transfer Facility (LLTF). The day will see the keel laying of the future USS CHAFEE (DDG 90), an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, co-sponsored by Mrs. John Chafee, widow of the Honorable John Chafee, a former Secretary of the Navy and Senator from Rhode Island, along with Mrs. Diane Blair, wife of Admiral Dennis Blair, Commander-in-Chief, U.S. Pacific Command.

The Navy has entered a new era of ship construction in Bath, Maine. The introduction of an innovative construction and launching platform brings some of the most modern warship building methods in the world to Bath Iron Works and the Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA). May 5 marked the first official use of what is known as the Land Level Transfer Facility (LLTF). That day saw the keel laying of the future USS Chafee (DDG 90), an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, co-sponsored by Mrs. John Chafee, widow of the Honorable John Chafee, a former Secretary of the Navy and Senator from Rhode Island, along with Mrs. Diane Blair, wife of Admiral Dennis Blair, Commander-in-Chief, U.S. Pacific Command.

Atkinson Construction used two Target:Pile Systems to aid in the placement more than 3,000 marine piles and 100 caisson structures. Both systems utilize Trimble's RTK receivers to position the barges with centimeter level accuracy. The first stage of the project, at Bath Iron Works Land-Level Transfer Facility Project, Bath, Maine, required the accurate placment of metal templates, which will be used to position five caissons at a time. The template was welded onto the side of the barge, and the center of the first caisson within the template was loaded into the Target:Pile system. Using the position of the first caisson and the required heading of the template, the barge could be moved into location. Once on location the template was spudded onto the seabed and detached from the barge.

Bath Iron Works will launch its 10th Arleigh Burke Class AEGIS guided missile destroyer, Howard, on November 20 at the West Gate. The vessel bears the name of Marine Corps Sgt. Jimmie E. Howard, a Medal of Honor recipient who was honored for his leadership of a platoon against attacks by a Viet Cong force. Bath will launch two more destroyers on its traditional building ways before utilizing the modern land-level transfer facility for ship construction.