BATH, Maine — On Friday the Navy awarded Bath Iron Works (BIW) a $132 million contract modification to enhance the workplace and improve supplier efficiency. The money will fund shipbuilder and supplier industrial base improvements in support of the Arleigh Burke (DDG-51) class destroyer program. This is in addition to $3 million previously awarded to BIW to start the surface combatant industrial base effort.
Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), who is a senior member of the Appropriations Committee and the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, and Sen. Angus King, who is a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, helped secure the funding through their roles.
“I am proud to have helped secure this funding that will make infrastructure improvements at the yard, enhance the jobs of BIW’s skilled and hardworking employees, and create future opportunities for growth,” Collins said in a statement.
The award designates $70 million to pay for shipyard process and infrastructure improvements. The contract also calls for spending $62 million on capital improvements to support a healthy DDG-51 supplier base and identify opportunities, challenges, and risks within their operations.
BIW is the lead designer and builder of the DDG-51, described by BIW as "one of the most technologically advanced and capable surface combatants ever built."
BIW and its largest union are still at odds over a new contract and thousands of workers continue to strike.
Collins said, “I hope that Local S6 and management will return to the bargaining table quickly to resolve their differences so that BIW can continue to deliver much-needed ships to our Navy.”
