BATH – Even though the Navy has reduced its goal for its number of ships, Bath Iron Works should stay busy in the coming years because the proposal calls for 30 percent more large warships like those built in Bath, Sen. Susan Collins said Wednesday.

The 30-year plan introduced last week would increase the number of “large surface combatants” — destroyers and cruisers — by 16 ships, even as the total fleet size would be reduced from 313 to 300, Collins said. The Navy now has about 285 ships.

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U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, above, at a ceremony marking the start of Bath Iron Works’ steel construction on the DDG 1002, the third Zumwalt Class guided-missile destroyer, in Bath on Wednesday. Pat Wellenbach/The Associated Press

Adm. Jonathan Greenert Pat Wellenbach/The Associated Press

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“It’s a good start — a very good start,” said Collins, who joined Adm. Jonathan Greenert on his first visit to Bath Iron Works since he became chief of naval operations.

Greenert viewed assembled hull segments of the future USS Zumwalt after participating in a ceremony at a BIW facility in Brunswick marking the start of construction of the third and final warship in the line.

Once maligned for its high cost, the Zumwalt is now viewed as well suited to the Navy’s new focus on the Asia and the Pacific, where the U.S. intends to bolster its military presence in response to Asia’s growing economic importance and China’s rise as a military power.

The 600-foot-long warships are the largest destroyers to be built in Bath but will have an element of stealth because of their low-to-the-water profile.

They feature 155 mm deck guns with rocket-propelled warheads that can hit targets 100 miles away. They have electric-drive propulsion, an unconventional wave-piercing hull, a new sonar system and the ability to launch multiple aerial drones, in addition to new strike capabilities. They’ll also require half the number of sailors to operate as existing Arleigh Burke-class destroyers.

“The DDG-1000 fits in perfectly with our strategy. It’s perfect for the Asia-Pacific,” said Greenert, who declared the futuristic warship to be “a marvel of engineering.”

While it’s technologically sophisticated, it’s also a symbol of defense programs that exceeded budget projections. The Navy had to truncate the program to just three ships because of spiraling costs, now estimated to be more than $3 billion per ship, compared to about $1.2 billion for the current class of ships.

After the three destroyers are built, the Navy will shift back to construction of Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, which are cheaper and have ballistic defense capabilities.

Collins, who serves on the Armed Services Committee and invited Greenert to tour the shipyard, said she’s proposing that a 10th ship be added to a nine-ship purchase for fiscal years 2013 through 2017.

That could be more good news for Bath Iron Works, a General Dynamics subsidiary, and its 5,400 shipbuilders.

In general, the new focus on Asia could mean more dollars for the Navy, which has seen funding reductions during the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, said Loren Thompson, a defense analyst at the Lexington Institute.

“The Obama administration’s shift to an Asia-Pacific strategy is very good news for the Navy. That probably means good news for Bath Iron Works, too,” he said.

While meeting with reporters, Greenert was asked about prospects that another Navy shipyard, the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard on the Maine-New Hampshire border, could be on the chopping block if there’s another round of base closings.

“Portsmouth fills a critical need for overhaul of our submarines and provides other things as well. I don’t see that need diminishing at all in the future,” he said.

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