Tag: Portsmouth

USS Hue City Begins Modernization

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October 4, 2019 – After a quarter-century of worldwide operations, the guided missile cruiser USS Hue City (CG 66) was inducted into the Cruiser Modernization program, Sept. 30, at Norfolk Naval Base, entering a period of major overhaul and modernization. The program shifts administrative control from Commander, Naval Surface Forces Atlantic to the Commander, Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA), allowing the ships to undergo extensive modernization work to extend their service life and Air Defense Commander capabilities. The CG Modernization program paces the threat through the installation of the latest…

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NNSY supports NAVSEA effort to bring transformation in timely delivery of ships and submarines

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September 19, 2019 – Norfolk Naval Shipyard (NNSY) kicked off an aligned effort with Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) this past August to ensure timely delivery of all of ship and submarine availabilities. This is the Naval Sustainment System – Shipyards (NSS-S) transformation, which centers on empowering project mechanics and ensuring continual work execution on the deckplates. “This effort pulls in the entire ‘availability enterprise’ to resolve challenges internal as well as external to public shipyards,” said Shipyard Commander Captain Kai Torkelson. “There have been real improvements at the shipyards…

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Norfolk Naval Shipyard (NNSY) does not just fix ships – it also protects them

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September 19, 2019 – Ships are safer at sea than in port. Like two ceramic mugs loosely next to each other in the dishwasher, a ship and the pier will damage each other as they bang together during a storm. Ships also have to leave well in advance of a storm in order to avoid destructive weather and rough seas. The Navy refers to this as a sortie. The next safest option to sortie is Safe Haven. As Hurricane Dorian tracked toward Hampton Roads the week of Sept. 2, NNSY…

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BAE Systems to Support Small Boats Across the UK

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September 10, 2019 – Contracts to support and maintain hundreds of high-speed rigid inflatable boats (RIBs) and other small boats used to help protect Britain’s shores have been awarded to BAE Systems under the Boats in Service Support (BISS) contract, the UK Ministry of Defence (MOD) announced today. Four individual contracts valued at up to £112 million form part of the wider MOD BISS agreement. Over six-and-a-half years, the contracts will help sustain existing skilled jobs as well as create new jobs at BAE Systems’ Maritime Services business in Portsmouth…

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Portsmouth’s Second Carrier Berth Nearly Complete

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September 4, 2019 – The Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO) is working with its contractor Volker Stevin to deliver crucial infrastructure worth £30-million to ensure the base’s second operational berth is ready in time for the carrier, which is due to arrive by the end of this year. One of the final pieces of the project was the installation of 2 Fendered Spacer Units (FSU). The FSUs are identical to those which were installed on the Princess Royal Jetty for HMS Queen Elizabeth, however this time they have been constructed by…

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La Motte-Picquet Trains with the Royal Navy

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September 4, 2019 (Google Translation) – After setting sail from Portsmouth on August 30, 2019, anti-submarine frigate La Motte-Picquet conducted a series of joint exercises with HMS Queen Elizabeth , the first aircraft carrier of this class and flagship of the Royal Navy , and RFA Tideforce . Various maneuvers were conducted off the coast of England, including coordinated flights of helicopters, allowing to immortalize this cooperation at sea during aerial shots by the French Lynx and British Merlin . In addition, tactical evolutions exercises (EVOLEX) have been used to…

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HMS Lancaster Refit Nears Completion

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August 15, 2019 – One hundred and twenty-nine crew of the Type 23 frigate HMS Lancaster have moved back on board the ship, breathing new life into the 4,500-ton warship following a two year overhaul in Devonport. Known as the ‘Red Rose’, HMS Lancaster – whose sponsor is Her Majesty The Queen in her role as Duke of Lancaster – has undergone extensive upgrades mirroring the major changes across the frigate flotilla, such as the new Artisan 3D radar, improved navigational radar and new-generation Sea Ceptor missile system as the…

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USCGC Escanaba Returns to Boston after Caribbean Patrol

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July 11, 2019 – Escanaba returned to Boston Thursday following a three-month patrol conducting drug and migrant interdiction operations in the Caribbean Sea. Throughout the patrol, Escanaba’s crew focused their efforts on law enforcement, completed a three-week training assessment of mission capabilities in Portsmouth, Virginia, and held a change-of-command ceremony. Escanaba’s crew partnered with Customs and Border Patrol within the Mona Passage for migrant interdiction operations. Crews terminated three illegal migrant ventures and repatriated more than 100 migrants. The crew’s counter-narcotics efforts resulted in the disruption of more than 5,500…

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Norfolk Naval Shipyard Dedicates Submarine Maintenance Facility

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June 18, 2019 – Norfolk Naval Shipyard (NNSY) dedicated its new Submarine Maintenance Facility June 14. The dedication marked the next crucial step in the NNSY’s realization of the Shipyard Infrastructure Optimization Plan that will enhance the ability of the four public shipyards to meet the mission of delivering ships back to the fleet on time and within budget. The new facility consolidates submarine maintenance, production and support shops into a single facility adjacent to NNSY’s submarine drydocks and piers. This two-story structure features shops, storage and support spaces on…

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Ike Returns to Sea Following Planned Incremental Availability

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March 28, 2019 – USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69) returned to sea March 28 following a scheduled planned incremental availability (PIA) during which the ship received innovative upgrades. One of the upgrades of note was the installation of the NULKA decoy system. “A disciplined and thoughtful approach to the basics brought us here,” said Capt. Kyle Higgins, Ike’s commanding officer of seeing the ship get underway. “We’ve been training for this for quite some time and invested a tremendous amount of sweat along the way. The hard work every…

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Coast Guard Cutter Tampa Returns Home After Inderdicting $240 million in Drugs

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March 25 2019 – Coast Guard Cutter Tampa returned to Portsmouth Monday following a successful 85-day counter-narcotics patrol in the Eastern Pacific Ocean. During their patrol off the coasts of Central and South America, Tampa’s crew successfully interdicted approximately 18,000 pounds of cocaine worth an estimated wholesale value of $240 million. The Coast Guard increased U.S. and allied presence in the Eastern Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Basin, which are known drug transit zones off Central and South America, as part of its Western Hemisphere Strategy. During at-sea interdictions in international…

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NNSY Welcomes USS George H.W. Bush for Dry-docking Planned Incremental Availability

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February 21, 2019 – USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77) arrived at Norfolk Naval Shipyard (NNSY), Feb. 21, for a 28-month dry-docking planned incremental availability (DPIA). Dry-docking and maintaining a 103,000 ton, 1,092-foot aircraft carrier is complex work. This DPIA marks the first time George H.W. Bush has not been waterborne since 2006. Requiring an estimated 1.3 million man-days, it will be the most extensive maintenance period for the ship yet and one of the most complex CVN chief of naval operations availabilities in recent NNSY history. The shipyard workforce…

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Babcock opens new facility to support key MOD contract

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January 22, 2019 – Babcock has opened a new office in Portsmouth in support of its critical five year Marine Systems Support Partner (MSSP) contract with the UK’s Ministry of Defence (MOD). Conveniently located close to the home of the Royal Navy’s surface fleet, the office opening coincided with MSSP’s first anniversary and highlights the collaboration across Babcock, the Royal Navy and the key support partners operating under the banner of Team Assure. Marked by a naming ceremony, Babcock representatives, Team Assure colleagues, Royal Navy and key stakeholders joined together…

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HMS Westminster Home for Christmas

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December 14, 2018 – HMS Westminster has returned home to Portsmouth in time for the festive season after spending eight weeks with multinational partners in colder climates. She departed Portsmouth on 15th October 2018 to head to Reykjavík in Iceland in preparation for Exercise Trident Juncture, the largest NATO exercise in nearly 30 years. Exercise Trident Juncture 2018 saw around 50,000 personnel from 31 Countries, including 61 ships, participating in exercises off the West Coast of Norway for a three-week period. The Commanding Officer, Commander Will Paston said, “The last…

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Harry S Truman Departs Portsmouth

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October 11, 2018 – USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) is heading back out to the North Atlantic after completing a four-day port visit in Portsmouth, England, Oct. 06-10. “Our Sailors were overwhelmed by the welcome we received across this beautiful isle,” said Commanding Officer Capt. Nick Dienna USN. “This visit was a phenomenal way to build on the long-standing partnership we have with our Royal Navy counterparts, as well as to forge new friendships with our gracious British hosts.” Having previously operated across the northern waters of both Second…

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