Navy awards $76 million for work on three dry docks cited for seismic concerns

Peiyu Lin, Kitsap Sun
·2 min read
A photograph of the dry dock at Trident Refit Facility Bangor (TRFB). The dry dock is used to conduct hull maintenance on ballistic missile submarines and other work requiring a submarine to be out of the water.
A photograph of the dry dock at Trident Refit Facility Bangor (TRFB). The dry dock is used to conduct hull maintenance on ballistic missile submarines and other work requiring a submarine to be out of the water.

More than $76 million will be spent on some repairs and upgrades for three of the four dry docks in Naval Base Kitsap that are currently suspended after potential issues were found in a Navy's seismic assessment last month.

Kiewit-Alberici SIOP MACC JV in Vancouver, Washington, was awarded a $76.35 million modification to a previously awarded task order, the Department of Defense announced on Thursday. The millions of funding would be used for "the rapid implementation of recommended courses of action based on concurrent existing conditions assessments" at three dry docks at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Bangor.

The total maximum value of the Washington-based company's task order was $80 million after the modification, according to DoD.

The work for the three dry docks is expected to be completed by May. The Navy's operation and maintenance funds would be used to support the project, according to DoD.

Mitigation work starts at two dry docks

Four dry docks in Kitsap — Dry Dock 4,5, and 6 at PSNS and a dry dock at Trident Refit Facility Bangor — are currently suspended from hosting submarines, following an annual seismic assessment that discovered potential concerns in late January.

So far, the Navy has started some mitigation efforts at two of the four dry docks and will begin working on the other two soon after the first two dry docks, one at PSNS and one at the Bangor base, are returned to full service, the Navy said in a press release on Wednesday.

The total amount of money that could be spent on repairing and upgrading the four dry docks remains unknown.

"Because of the project’s size and scope, the Navy has not yet fully quantified the total cost of the structural upgrades," Puget Sound Naval Shipyard spokesperson Anna Taylor said in an email to Kitsap Sun's request on Friday.

More:Navy suspending use of 4 Kitsap submarine dry docks in light of seismic concerns

Reporter Peiyu Lin covers the military for the Kitsap Sun. She can be reached at pei-yu.lin@kitsapsun.com or on Twitter @peiyulintw.

This article originally appeared on Kitsap Sun: Navy awards $76 million to fix suspended dry docks at Naval Base Kitsap