'I'm pleased with how those ships are now starting to perform,' official says
The Navy says that the 700-foot amphibious transport vessels built at Avondale Shipyard by Northrop Grumman are getting more reliable. The comments came at a House hearing last week, as the first ship approaches its 25th month out of commission, with repairs continuing in its homeport of Norfolk, Va.
"I do believe that we are through the woods on the LPD-17 quality
issues," said Gary Roughead, chief of Naval Operations. "We have worked
that very hard. And I'm pleased with how those ships are now starting to
perform." Still, he said, the problems with the first LPD taught the
Navy a tough lesson about the dangers of rushing a ship into service
before it's ready. "It's a lesson to be learned that you don't take
ships before they're finished and that you really make sure that you're
leaning on the quality early on in the construction process," Roughead
said.
The extensive repairs required on the first LPD increased costs from $1.8 billion to more than $2 billion, according to the Navy. Northrop Grumman, which announced last year that it will be closing the Avondale Shipyard, has said it will keep the facility open until the last LPD is finished, probably in 2013. State officials are hoping to get another shipbuilder to take over the facility.
Bruce Alpert can be reached at balpert@timespicayune.com or 202.383.7861. Jonathan Tilove can be reached at jtilove@timespicayune.com or 202.383.7827.