US Navy completes structural upgrades on Dry Dock 5 at Bremerton yard

USS Connecticut is in the re-certified dry dock in Bremerton, Washington. (US Navy)

The US Navy (USN) finished structural upgrades meant as interim seismic mitigation on Dry Dock 5 at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility in Bremerton, Washington, the USN confirmed on 12 July.

The USN has tested and re-certified the dry dock, the service said in a statement.

Seawolf-class attack submarine USS Connecticut (SSN 22) docked for its Extended Dry-dock Selected Restricted Availability (EDSRA) in the dry dock on 12 July, navy officials said.

Connecticut grounded on an uncharted seamount on 2 October 2021 while operating submerged in a poorly surveyed area in international waters in the Indo-Pacific region.

Puget Sound Naval Shipyard lies on an active fault line, and the navy estimates that it will still need significant infrastructure improvements in order to make it more likely to survive a severe earthquake, the US Government Accountability Office (GAO) noted in its report Navy Readiness Actions Needed to Address Cost and Schedule Estimates for Shipyard Improvement released in June.

As part of the Shipyard Infrastructure Optimization Program (SIOP), between fiscal year (FY) 2022 and FY 2027 Puget Sound Naval Shipyard is in the process of “engaging in the design and construction of a new dry dock; engaging in capital equipment improvements, including the replacement of a portal crane; and engaging in the design of a new waterfront support facility”, the GAO reported.