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Shipbuilding
Ship Maintainers Get First Glimpse into Virginia Class
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By Grace V. Jean
GROTON, Conn. — The first of the Navy’s newest class of attack submarines, USS Virginia (SSN-774), returned from its maiden deployment in April and is slated for its first scheduled maintenance later this year in Portsmouth, Maine.
“It will be the first opportunity to assess the condition of the ship after delivery in 2004,” said Capt. Michael Jabaley, program manager of the Virginia-class submarines at Naval Sea Systems Command.
The boat will be at the yard for about a year and will offer the Navy a chance to examine how the tanks and pumps are holding up. After the scheduled maintenance is completed, the ship will go back to sea for another six to seven years.
USS Virginia departed last October from its homeport at New London Submarine Base, Conn., to serve in three different theaters, including the Mediterranean Sea and the Persian Gulf.
On the eve of Virginia’s return to her homeport, Capt. Doug Arnold, who at the time was the commander of regional support group, the command overseeing the submarine maintenance organizations, sat down for an interview with National Defense.
Virginia experienced few maintenance issues on her deployment and she could turn around and go back to sea very quickly, he said.
Because the 377-foot long ship is larger than its predecessor, the Los Angeles-class submarine, the base’s floating dry dock was upgraded to handle Virginia-class submarines.
“It opens up the flexibility with docks up river at Electric Boat,” said Arnold. “If we had to do an emergency dock to install equipment or repairs, it’s very easy to do with the floating dock right here.”
The biggest challenge is developing the procedures to repair a new ship. “Most of the guys working out here have fixed 688s for 30 years. I can ask them how long does it take to do x to y. They can tell me down to the minute,” said Arnold. “For Virginia class, it’s a little more challenging because we’re still building that database, that knowledge.”
As shipbuilders prepare to construct two Virginias a year beginning in 2011, the maintenance organizations will also benefit from the faster production rate. “More boats gives us more parts availability in the Navy’s stock system,” said Arnold.
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