BATH (AP) – Gov. John Baldacci was on hand Wednesday as Bath Iron Works unveiled the cornerstone for a 66,788-square-foot facility designed to help make the shipyard more efficient.
Bath Iron Works is building an “Ultra Hall” that will allow shipbuilders to put together larger hull segments in an enclosed facility.
The facility will build upon earlier efficiencies that allowed 1,400-ton units to be created indoors before being joined together. When the Ultra Hall is completed, the shipyard will be able to create units that weigh more than three times as much indoors.
Once the units are completed, they’re pieced together outdoors at the land-level transfer facility before the vessel is moved to a dry dock.
The project is viewed as key to construction of the next generation DDG-1000 Zumwalt destroyer.
The DDG-1000 will weigh more than 14,500 tons, compared to about 9,200 tons for the latest Arleigh Burke destroyers built in Bath.
AP-ES-05-23-07 0958EDT
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