BATH

Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Angus King, I-Maine, announced a contract modification of $44,305,474 to Bath Iron Works for continued planning yard services for Arleigh Burke-class destroyers and Oliver Hazard Perry-class ships.

“This announcement is welcome news for the hardworking men and women at Bath Iron Works,” said the senators in a joint statement. “These contracts show the Navy’s commitment to BIW and its confidence in the shipyard’s highly skilled employees, who are vital to our state’s economy and to our nation’s security.”

A spokesperson for BIW clarified that the shipyard no longer provides planning yard services for the Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigates, which have all been decommissioned from the fleet.

In a visit to BIW in September, Secretary of the Navy Richard Spencer stated that the Navy was entertaining the idea of recommissioning several of the decommissioned frigates as part of an effort to increase the size of the fleet to 355 ships. It is theoretically possible that if that were to happen, BIW could resume planning yard services.

In the interval since then, however, Defense News has reported that a Chief of Naval Operations memo recommended that the Navy not recommission the frigates.

“With obsolete combat systems and aging hulls, these vessels would require significant upgrades to remain warfighting relevant for another decade,” reads the memo. “Any potential return on investment would be offset by high reactivation and life-cycle costs, a small ship inventory, limited service life, and substantial capability gaps.”

The Navy only has 10 of the frigates remaining, and Defense News reports that it would cost $432 million per ship over a decade to bring them back into the fleet. The memo instead recommends to invest in modernization and the development of a new guided-missile frigate, for which BIW plans to put in a bid.