Bath Iron Works could receive up to $66 million to upgrade and maintain Navy ships in its fleet through the end of this year as part of a contract announced Monday by the U.S. Navy.
Dixie Stedman, a BIW spokesperson, said Tuesday that the contract is a continuation of the shipyard’s ongoing modernization and maintenance work on DDG-51 Arleigh Burke-class destroyers and FFG-7 Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigates.
Work from the contract will be authorized by the Navy incrementally, Stedman said, as upgrades or maintenance are needed. The contract includes extension options for work that could be reauthorized through 2016.
If each extension is reauthorized, according to a BIW press release, the contract could bring up to $371.6 million in work — including design, logistics and planning — to the Bath shipyard for the work done after ships are built and delivered.
BIW currently supports upkeep and upgrades on ships at locations in Maine, as well as in Norfolk, Va., San Diego, Calif., Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and Yokosuka, Japan.
In a press release, BIW President Jeff Geiger said the contract award is a vote of confidence from the Navy.
“This award indicates confidence on the part of the Navy in our ability to maintain DDGs and FFGs well into the future,” Geiger said.
U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree, a Democrat who represents Maine’s 1st District, also lauded the contract award in an announcement Monday.
“The Arleigh Burke class continues to be a workhorse for the Navy and maintaining and modernizing the ships will help keep the top-notch workers at BIW on the job,” Pingree said.
dfishell@timesrecord.com
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