Facility improvements like the new crane 3303-043 have made huge lifts like the 237-ton grand block A371 safer and faster for Bougainville (LHA 8).
Bougainville (LHA 8) shipbuilders have reached a major halfway point erecting the large deck amphibious warship.
The 96 units added so far include a variety of inner-bottoms, wings and large grand blocks. The ship’s bulbous bow and other additions are making it look more like a ship every week.
"The ship is coming together quickly with the fabricated components and units provided by the shops," said Stephen Janowski, LHA 8 ship program manager. "The teams implementing the Shipyard of the Future projects along with our existing facilities have improved the level of completed outfitting prior to erect."
Some key areas of progress are machinery spaces, steering compartments, cargo weapons elevators, magazines and habitability spaces.
"Focus on first-time quality has enabled us to perform at a maximum level in order to reach the 50% erect mark prior to our milestone date," said Ernest Bradley, Hull superintendent.
Bradley said the excellent progress in the shops is helping the Hull team close in on the 50% weld-out milestone.