Press Releases

Congresswoman Chellie Pingree said today that Bath Iron Works is in line to get an agreement to build another DDG 51 destroyer, in addition to the five that the yard already has contracted with the Navy for.  The contract for the extra ship is triggered by a 2002 agreement with the Navy that gives BIW another DDG 51 if the Huntington Ingalls Shipyard in Mississippi is awarded a contract to build an amphibious attack ship.  The Navy announced yesterday that they had agreed to build that amphibious ship in Mississippi and would honor the swap with BIW.
 
"The DDG-51s have been real workhorses for the Navy and building more of them at BIW is a smart investment," Pingree said. "Bath is building high quality ships incredibly efficiently, and it makes sense to keep that highly skilled workforce fully employed.  I've pushed for the Navy to honor this swap agreement and I'm glad they intend to do so."
 
Congress would still have to come up with funding to build another DDG-51 in Bath.  Pingree, a member of the House Appropriations Committee, has been pushing to make funding available to finance the swap agreement and build the extra destroyer at BIW.