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Dry dock at King Bay Naval Submarine Base
The Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command (NAVFAC) Southeast recapitalization project on the Trident Refit Facility dry dock is halfway to completion at Kings Bay Naval Submarine Base, according to a news release from the base.
Alberici-Mortenson, Joint Venture, is spearheading the $592 million project, which began in the summer of 2020 and is slated to be completed in April 2023, the release said.
The project consists of three phases and is currently halfway through the second and most critical phase.
During the current phase, replacement of roof and wall panels, recoating of all structural steel, replacement of utility systems that support the docked submarine and replacement of all of the dry dock systems that move water in and out of the dock will be completed. Superstructure repairs, utility and control systems replacement, replacement of pumps and sluice gates, and concrete basin repairs will also be completed.
The first phase, which was completed in the summer of 2021, included construction of security exclusion zones to improve access, procurement of long lead items, and temporary work and storage spaces.
“This project is critical because the dry dock is almost continuously occupied for submarine maintenance,” said Cmdr. Marcel Duplantier, resident officer in charge of construction. “The ability to pause submarine maintenance and completely overhaul the dry dock will ensure this dock can support Ohio-class and in the future Columbia-class maintenance availabilities for the next several decades.”
With more than 1,000 people working together on the project, it was prudent to find a way to minimize delays in access to and from the work site.
“We constructed 1,000 parking spots, and increased the security guards at the gates to keep material and people freely flowing onto the jobsite every day,” said Duplantier.
The third and final phase will include electrical and mechanical upgrades to support facilities, repairs to the fire protection and utility tunnel, and removal of all temporary facilities. Duplantier said the success thus far has been a team effort.
“The Navy has assembled an incredible team to accomplish this project,” said Duplantier. “I’m proud of what the team has accomplished to date and excited to see us get this incredibly important project across the finish line and see that first submarine pull back into the ‘new’ dock next fall.”
Trident Refit Facility’s mission is to provide quality industrial and logistics support for the incremental overhaul, modernization, and repair of Trident submarines and to provide global submarine supply support.
The Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay dry dock is one of the largest covered dry docks in the world.