Concerns are rising over a possible gap in shipbuilding contracts.
By Mal Leary
Capitol News Service

AUGUSTA – The U.S. Navy calls it the “Surface Combatant 21” family of ships. But, for Bath Iron Works, one of Maine’s key employers, it is the future.

“There is no question it is the future,” said U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee. “The Navy describes them as a family of ships, and they are related, but at the same time, in many ways they are different. What is important is that these are the ships that will keep workers working at BIW.”

The problem is that a construction schedule for the new ships has not been determined yet, and there is concern that work on the current class of ships being built at BIW will end before contracts on the new ships are in place to keep the shipyard’s 6,700 workers employed.

Any gap in shipbuilding at the state’s largest employer with its $280 million annual payroll could have a serious impact on the state’s economy. New construction funding for the DDG-51 or “Burke” class of destroyers is scheduled to end in 2005, with the last of those ships to be completed in 2008.

The key ship in the new family, described in Navy documents as “the centerpiece to transforming the 21st Century Navy,” is the DD(X).

That is the latest name for a new class of destroyers first proposed over a decade ago and designed to replace the DDG-51 class. The lead ship will be built by a group led by Ingalls Shipyard of Mississippi. BIW will share in the construction of future ships, but won’t get any of the work until after the lead ship is built.

“I am confident the work will be there,” Collins said, recently, “but there is always a concern because we are talking about such long lead times on these ships.”

In the meantime, BIW is hoping to win a contract to build a related ship to tide the shipyard over until the DD(X) work arrives.

“On a faster track for us is the LCS,” said Tom Bowler, BIW vice president for programs. “We are competing to build one of the three designs that are in competition for the LCS program.”

The Littoral Combat Ship, or LCS, while considered by the Navy to be part of the new family of ships, will differ significantly from the much larger DD(X). While the new destroyer will displace nearly 15,000 tons and be about 600 feet long, the LCS will displace a fraction of its larger cousin and be less than half the length.

“It also is on a faster track, ahead of the DD(X), in terms of when we expect it will first be built,” Collins said. “And that is very, very important for BIW.”

The gap between completion of existing contracts and the start of work on the new ship types “is very troubling,” Collins said. “We think the LCS can fill the gap until the DD(X) construction gets underway there, but you have to be concerned.”

Bowler agrees. He said history shows that the first ship in every class takes longer to build than expected. When BIW built the first DDG-51, it was 18 months behind schedule. Other recent lead warships have been even further behind schedule.

“We have to be looking out to the future,” he said. “There is such a long lead time in shipbuilding.”

No one is sure when the contract for the lead ship of the LCS will be awarded. What is certain is the economic impact any delay in construction could have on the state.

“BIW is very important to Maine’s economy,” said State Economist Laurie LaChance. “It has workers, and sub-contractors, from every county in the state. The impact ripples throughout all of Maine.”

BIW has 6,700 workers and they live in all 16 counties. While Sagadahoc County, the home of the yard is also home to most workers, nearly 2,000, Androscoggin County is home to the second highest number of workers, nearly 1,300.

It’s importance is evident to Collins.

“I think all of us in the (congressional) delegation are aware of the impact BIW has all over the state,” she said.

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