“This contract award is a significant milestone for Austal USA and a testament to the hard work and dedication of our team in achieving dry dock certification,” said Austal USA President Gene Miller. “Now we have the capability to provide full-service dry-dock support for extended, year-long repairs. An additional dry dock in San Diego gives the Navy greater capacity to complete complex maintenance projects and emergent repairs in a dedicated dry-dock facility. This is exactly the type of work we built this facility for, and we look forward to demonstrating the exceptional quality and efficiency that our customers have come to expect from Austal USA.”
This contract calls for Austal USA’s repair and services team to replace the ship’s main service diesel generator. This is a complex project requiring critical work below the waterline, making the new dry dock essential to its successful completion. Performing the work in a dry dock, rather than pierside, will significantly improve efficiency and will help return the ship to the fleet as quickly as possible and in peak operating condition. Providing dry dock capacity in San Diego offers crew stability by allowing them to remain in their homeport near their families, while keeping the ship close to the Navy’s San Diego-based maintenance team.
The dry dock has a 9,000 light ton lifting capacity. It is 531 feet (162 meters) long and 154 feet (47 meters) wide, with a wingwall width of 13.12 feet (4.0 meters) and a maximum draft of 36 feet (11 meters). The dry dock cranes have a combined lifting capacity of 16 metric tons.
