JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR-HICKAM - Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command (NAVFAC) Pacific awarded a $2.8-billion task order under a previously-awarded indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity multiple-award construction contract to Dragados/Hawaiian Dredging/Orion JV, based in Honolulu, Hawaii, to replace Dry Dock 3 at Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility (PHNSY & IMF) March 10.
The planned five-year project will construct a graving dock, to be designated Dry Dock 5, in order to support PHNSY's ability to continue serving the Navy decades into the future by maintaining and modernizing the U.S. Pacific Fleet's nuclear-powered submarines.
"As part of the Navy's Shipyard Infrastructure Optimization Program (SIOP), replacing Dry Dock 3 at Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard is a critical enabler of increased naval capability," said Pete Lynch, program executive officer for Industrial Infrastructure, who oversees SIOP. "This project is a key investment in increasing capacity and modernizing our nation's public shipyards through upgraded dry docks and facilities, new equipment, and improved workflow."
Dry Dock 3 at PHNSY & IMF will become functionally obsolete once the Navy's Los Angeles-class submarines are no longer in service. The dry dock, built in 1942, cannot service Virginia-class submarines or larger surface ships.
"We look forward to working with Dragados/Hawaiian Dredging/Orion JV, Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard, and all our stakeholders on this project over the next several years in order to deliver this critical capability to the Fleet," said Capt. Steve Padhi, commanding officer of Officer in Charge of Construction (OICC) Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard. "The project team and cooperating agencies have gone above and beyond to set the conditions for success. We have incorporated lessons learned and best practices from other dry dock projects and field offices across the Navy, and we have consulted with our construction contractors early in order to confidently meet the requirements we've been given. My OICC team and I are ready to get started on this historic effort."
The Navy is investing heavily in shipyard infrastructure for nuclear-powered warships. The Navy established SIOP to increase throughput at the four public shipyards by updating their physical layout, upgrading and modernizing their dry docks, and replacing antiquated capital equipment with modern tools and technologies.
SIOP is a holistic investment plan that when fully executed will deliver required dry dock repairs and upgrades to support current and planned future classes of nuclear-powered aircraft carriers and submarines, optimize workflow within the shipyards through significant changes to their physical layout, and recapitalize industrial plant equipment with modern technology that will substantially increase productivity and safety.
