Norfolk Naval Shipyard broke floor Wednesday on a $300 million renovation that can modernize a historic dry dock to serve the Navy’s latest class of warships.
The multi-year renovation will carry Dry Dock 8 as much as par with the USS Gerald R. Ford CVN-78. The brand new service is 4 ft wider and displaces 3,000 tons greater than its Nimitz-class predecessors.
Dry Dock 8, which dates to 1942, will bear saltwater upgrades to satisfy capability and circulate demand required to assist a docked service, in addition to caisson reviews to permit sooner, extra managed, flooding of the dock, and pump repairs. Of the $300 million, $90 million can be invested to restore the 2 berths adjoining to the dock.
The renovation of Dry Dock 8 is Norfolk Naval Shipyard’s largest venture as a part of the Navy’s Shipyard Infrastructure Optimization Program (SIOP).
“At this time signifies a brand new chapter within the story of SIOP and this historic facility because the shipyard workforce prepares for its new mission of supporting CVN 78,” mentioned Pete Lynch, Program Govt Officer for Industrial Infrastructure answerable for this system. “CVN 78 is a essential enabler of elevated naval functionality and ushers in a brand new period of maritime readiness.”
The shipyard can also be in the course of a $200 million renovation on Dry Dock 4, the shipyards largest submarine dry dock.
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