Norfolk Naval Shipyard (NNSY), Naval Facility Engineering Systems Command (NAVFAC) and contracting partners have worked together to complete significant upgrades to Dry Dock 8’s pumpwell system in preparation for the new Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carriers.
These upgrades are part of the dock’s full modernization that began in February 2023 under the Shipyard Infrastructure Optimization Program (SIOP), which has included saltwater upgrades for supporting a docked carrier; caisson and dewatering pump repairs. SIOP is a comprehensive, long-term effort to modernize infrastructure and industrial plant equipment at the Navy’s four public shipyards.
“We didn’t have the cooling capacity for the new carrier class at all,” said Tom Uliana, a construction manager with NAVFAC’s Resident Officer in Charge of Construction, Norfolk Naval Shipyard. “The Dry Dock 8 Saltwater System is just one of several projects that we did just for the Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carrier over the last 15 years.”…