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U.S. SHIP REPAIR DROP IN NAVY REPAIR BUSINESS The lack of funding for required Navy ship maintenance has reached an alarming stage, according to U.S. ship repair interests. The Port of San Diego Ship Repair Association calls the funding shortfall for ship repair and maintenance in Fiscal Year 2000 "a disturbing trend" And the shortfalls are not confined to one region. The association says they will impact both the Atlantic and Pacific Fleets. For example, the total FY '00 shortfall for the Pacific Fleet surface ship maintenance is $90 million, out of which $60 million is required for ships homeported in San Diego. Case in point is the supply ship USS Detroit (AOE-4). The results of the inspection of the vessel were "the worst ever," and it was found to be unsafe for underway operations by the Navy's Board of Inspection and Survey. The report by the Navy Board goes on to say, "Fitness for further service will dependent upon correction of those mission degrading and safety related discrepancies delineated in the Board's report."Funding needed to bring the USS Detroit back to minimum standards, says the association, is $60 million. The Atlantic Fleet is facing even steeper shortfalls. The FY '00 shortfall in funding is $145 million, with $188 million of that required for Norfolk, Va. Six availabilities have already been canceled, with additional cancellations likely. As the shortages increase, $4 million worth of scheduled work on the USS Coronado (AGF-11) has been deferred. The postponed work on the ship, currently in dry dock at Southwest Marine, San Diego, includes repairs on sewage holding tank diverter valves and pumps, weapons elevators and mandatory and safety discrepancies on firefighting systems. During a recent phased maintenance availability on the USS Ogden, $1.6 million in necessary firefighting repairs were also deferred. It brings the question whether Congress is gambling with the lives of our sailors? Rep. Randy "Duke"Cunningham thinks so. "The longer working hours and unacceptable conditions our sailors must endure as a result of unfunded maintenance and modernization is a major contributing factor to the Navy's current retention shortfall. It is also extremely unsafe to man ships that are not battle ready and a great injustice to our sailors to place them in harm's way so drastically unprepared.î
TODD FOCUSES ON REPAIR With budgeted Navy dollars dwindling, competition for both military and commercial repair jobs is intensifying. Following the construction of three Washington State ferries and a 70 MW floating electrical power barge, Todd Shipyards, Seattle, decided to focus its primary efforts on on the repair, maintenance, and overhaul of fleets operating on Puget Sound and the Pacific Coast. In 1996, it was awarded a cost-type contract for phased maintenance repairs to four Navy supply ships currently scheduled over 11 availabilities in five years worth some $79 million. It also holds a five year cost-type contract for phased maintenance work worth some $100 million and gives the Navy options to have Todd perform repair and maintenance work on three separate nuclear aircraft carriers at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Bremerton, Wash. Work on the first ship availability started in April 1999. Cascade General, Portland, Ore., has also continued its involvement with the U.S. Navy at the Bremerton Naval Shipyard, with a major overhaul on the 563 ft guided missile destroyer USS Fife. The more than $10 million contract required mobilizing over 150 workers to Puget Sound for a three month period. On the commercial side, Cascade General and Alaska Tanker Company (ATC) recently signed an alliance agreement for the maintenance and repair of ATC's fleet of Alaska North Slope (ANS) tankers. Cascade also sent a second mobile team to Honolulu, Hawaii, to perform biennial repairs to American Hawaii Cruises S/S Independence, drydocked in Honolulu in January for 17 days. As it approaches 50 years of age, the Independence requires expert care to maintain its U.S.C.G. certification. |
