Shipbuilders Council of America’s Post

The U.S. Navy's shipbuilding faces its worst crisis in 25 years, plagued by labor shortages, cost overruns, and design changes. With an aging workforce and difficulties attracting new talent, production delays are mounting, raising concerns about national security. Industry leaders are stepping up training efforts, but challenges remain. Dive into the full story to learn more about how this impacts the future of naval defense.

A few takeaways from this piece on the "alarm[ing]" failures in American naval shipbuilding... -- To address persistent cost overruns, with one of its new frigates, the Navy chose a ship design already in use by navies in France and Italy instead of starting from scratch. The idea was that 15% of the vessel would be updated to meet U.S. Navy specifications, while 85% would remain unchanged, reducing costs and speeding construction. Instead, the Navy redesigned 85% of the ship. -- The Constellation class ship is now 3 years behind schedule for delivery and the design is still not complete. -- And massive workforce / retention problems as the Navy seeks to ramp up production generally (workforce issues go hand in hand with the decades-long erosion of the defense industrial base). https://lnkd.in/e3zThw2d

The U.S. Navy's shipbuilding challenges highlight the critical need for skilled labor, especially as they work to close the gap with global competitors like China. Shipyards like Fincantieri Marinette Marine are facing worker shortages, despite offering extensive training and retention bonuses. The Navy's reliance on innovative, lower-cost warships underscores the importance of these workers. It's a call to action for strengthening the workforce and ensuring our nation's defense capabilities. ⚓️ #Navy #Shipbuilding #DefenseIndustry #SkilledLabor #WorkforceDevelopment

Labor shortages can be mitigated with modern IT processes including a single digital thread for optimized workflows, VR for training, Robotic Process Automation for work packages, track and trace for misplaced inventory, and GenAI to solve challenges such as welding documentation rapidly. The United States ran 55 shipyards in WWII with half of the population but we are still maintaining our nuclear Navy with outmoded processes and antiquated technology. Through modernization and digital transformation, the Navy will gain efficiencies and get these critical national assets back to sea...Or build better and more modern shipyards as our peer competitors do. Either way, our nation must make a capital investment in revitalizing the maritime industrial base or we will soon find ourselves outnumbered, out-gunned, and out-sticked. Then the real supply chain and labor shortage challenges will begin.

Our Nation’s capability and capacity for building warships and merchant fleets is a national security imperative that requires consistent attention. Unlike raising an army with a draft in a few years, ships take many years. We are a maritime nation with our security and existence tied to our naval power. Time for serious discussion and action. https://lnkd.in/e4ttJg2J

One of the industry's chief problems is the struggle to hire and retain laborers for the challenging work of building new ships as graying veterans retire, taking decades of experience with them. Shipyards across the country have created training academies and partnered with technical colleges to provide workers with the skills they need to construct high-tech warships. Submarine builders and the Navy formed an alliance to promote manufacturing careers, and shipyards are offering perks to retain workers once they're hired. Much of the blame for U.S. shipbuilding's current woes lies with the Navy, which frequently changes requirements, requests upgrades and tweaks designs after shipbuilders have begun construction. The Navy also chose a ship design already in use by navies in France and Italy instead of starting from scratch. The idea was that 15% of the vessel would be updated to meet U.S. Navy specifications, while 85% would remain unchanged, reducing costs and speeding construction. Instead, the opposite happened: The Navy redesigned 85% of the ship, resulting in cost increases and construction delays, said Bryan Clark, an analyst at the Washington-based think tank Hudson Institute. Construction of the first-in-class Constellation warship, which began in August 2022, is now three years behind schedule, with delivery pushed back to 2029. #ships #shipbuilding #shipyards #laborforce #usnavy #warships #navalarchitecture

The US Navy has disclosed that 26 ships, including three currently in service, have been affected by faulty welds from the Newport News Shipbuilding, A Division of HII. This revelation has raised significant concerns within the military community and among lawmakers. The faulty welds were identified on the USS George Washington, as well as the attack submarines USS Hyman G. Rickover and USS New Jersey. The issues originated from improper welding techniques, with reports suggesting that some deviations from standard practices may have been intentional. While Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro has stated that these welds do not compromise the safety or operational capabilities of the ships, the situation is alarming. It underscores the importance of maintaining rigorous standards in shipbuilding, as the safety of our sailors is at stake. Lawmakers are pressing for answers, emphasizing that understanding the scope of this problem is critical. As professionals in the defense and maritime industries, it’s essential to advocate for transparency and accountability in our military operations. This situation serves as a reminder of the collective responsibility we share to ensure that our forces are equipped and ready for any challenges they may face. It’s crucial for both the Navy and Huntington Ingalls Industries to address these welding issues transparently and promptly. We all want our fleet to be the best it can be, and our service members deserve the highest standards of safety and reliability. #Navy #Shipbuilding #MilitarySafety #Leadership #Accountability #Veterans #DefenseIndustry #NewportNews #WeldingIssues #Transparency #MilitaryCommunity

The ongoing debate over how to surge ship production for the U.S. Navy has centered on reactivating idled facilities as a sensible way forward.1 However, this approach overlooks the skilled labor force that would be needed to man these reactivated yards, which, unlike the facilities themselves, cannot be rapidly created or easily retained.

US Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro admits that the Navy should have purchased more amphibious ships earlier, following a year of turmoil and controversy over the proposed pause in amphibious shipbuilding. Del Toro's statement came during a congressional hearing to review the Navy's fiscal year 2025 budget request. The aging amphibious fleet and maintenance challenges have been a significant concern, and Del Toro emphasized the need to invest in new ships to replace the old ones. Despite previous disagreements and criticism, the current shipbuilding plan aims to reach a fleet of 31 amphibious ships. Del Toro highlighted the urgency of replacing older ships to meet future mission requirements. The Navy is exploring multi-ship purchases to achieve cost savings. #Navy #MarineCorps #AmphibiousShips #Shipbuilding #DefenseBudget #MilitaryTechnology #NavalOperations #NavySecretary #FleetModernization #MissionReadiness #CongressionalHearing #FutureMissions #InvestmentInDefense #AgingFleet #MaintenanceChallenges

The United States' two largest submarine builders—General Dynamics' Electric Boat and Huntington Ingall Industries' Newport News Shipbuilding—recently reported a very strong hiring and workforce retention period during the third quarter of this year. The announcements, which run contrary to the general sentiment surrounding the US Submarine Industrial Base, come during a turbulent period for the industry and the broader US Navy submarine force.  “…turning to labor, we have hired nearly 5,400 craft personnel year-to-date through the third quarter, which puts us 8% ahead of our full-year plan of approximately 5,000. We have work to do to improve our retention rate and the shipbuilding teams are laser focused on addressing this challenge. Retention and attendance and the acceleration of workforce development will remain consistent focus areas for us going forward,”