NORFOLK — For several months, Newport News Shipbuilding workers have been constructing and storing panels in Norfolk for CVN-80, the Ford class aircraft carrier Enterprise under construction on the Peninsula.
The Norfolk yard’s work is the first time NNS, a division of Huntington Ingalls Industries, has had its own workers doing fabrication work in south Hampton Roads, according to Les Smith, vice president of aircraft carrier programs at NNS.
“Expanding our footprint into Norfolk frees up critical space in our shipyard in Newport News,” Smith said at an event in the yard Monday. “This leads to improved efficiency that benefits all of our shipbuilding programs, and ultimately, our national defense.”
The Peninsula shipyard is the busiest it’s been in four decades with about 20 ships being built or repaired currently, he said.
There is potential for expansion at the site to include work on the nuclear powered submarines Huntington Ingalls also builds at the shipyard, according to Smith.
So far, 20 employees are working at the Norfolk yard. Smith said the goal is to reach almost 80 by the end of the year and up to 150 by the end of 2024. Newport News Shipbuilding has invested $25 million into the site so far and could invest a further $75 million over the next five years after discussions with the Navy, Smith said.
Smith said benefits to having the Norfolk yard include a shorter commute and simpler parking situation, a note which garnered cheers from staff in hard hats at the Monday event. Additionally, it decreases distances for the roughly 70 suppliers NNS has in Norfolk.
Norfolk Mayor Kenny Alexander said NNS locating in Norfolk is a testament to the strength of the city’s workforce.
The shipyard is leasing the space from Fairlead, which in turn is leasing the space from Norfolk Southern, said Jerry Miller, navy veteran and chief executive of Fairlead.
“This was an underutilized facility and Norfolk Southern didn’t really know what to do with it, so I think we’re putting it to good use” he said.
Miller said while crossing the James River bridge one day in 2015, he thought to himself NNS might be close to running out of space. In 2019, Fairlead acquired space in Portsmouth at the former Ocean Marine site, which it in turn offered some to NNS, he said. Ten months after that, Norfolk Southern put the Norfolk yard up for lease. By the end of October 2022, the shipyard had expressed interest in using the Norfolk space, according to Miller.
“As the geopolitical landscape has continued to be fraught and troubled with every breaking news alert, particularly with the events that we’re all watching in the last few weeks, the importance of our aircraft carriers and what you all do here, and our Navy’s ability to project power from five acres of sovereign U.S. territory, anywhere in the world has never been more clear,” said Casey Moton, U.S. Navy program executive officer for aircraft carriers.
Meeting this demand for carriers such as the new Enterprise, John F. Kennedy and Doris Miller, and other vessels require close coordination between the military, industry and workers, according to Moton.
“The Norfolk campus is a prime example of what we can do when we come together to take the economy and drive new shipbuilding efficiencies into our programs and to invest in the future of our industrial base and the communities that support them,” Moton said.
The NNS work is another example of redevelopment of Lamberts Point industry, along with the $500 million redevelopment called Fairwinds Landing at the former Lamberts Point Docks.
Norfolk’s Economic Development Authority won a $39 million federal U.S. Department of Transportation grant to support a redevelopment of the facility for offshore wind logistics, according to a Friday news release. The project has also been awarded state grants.
“Renovating the aging waterfront infrastructure at Fairwinds Landing is a critical step in establishing Hampton Roads as an offshore wind hub and highlights the benefits of the federal government’s investment in critical infrastructure,” said Miller, who is also a managing partner of Fairwinds Landing, LLC.
Ian Munro, 757-447-4097, ian.munro@virginiamedia.com, @iamIanMunro
