Norfolk shipyard opens $73.3M facility
One of the Navy’s four public shipyards completed a major new training facility for thousands of workers.
Norfolk Naval Shipyard recently opened a new $73.3 million, 157,000-square-foot training facility in Portsmouth as part of a modernization program. The four-story building means all the shipyard’s production training now happens in one location.
The new facility will allow the Navy to coordinate training as one team, shipyard commander Capt. Dianna Wolfson said in a statement.
“From this very place, we will be providing training for ships that will be in service decades from now and training thousands upon thousands of shipyard employees who will develop and strengthen foundational skills for their entire careers,” Wolfson said.
The four-story building includes 34 academic
classrooms and 26 mock-up areas, and will be used to train workers in quality assurance, operations, engineering and lifting and handling. It will also support training for Gerald R. Fordclass aircraft carriers and Virginia-class submarines.
The facility is part of a 20-year, $21 billion plan to modernize the Navy’s four public shipyards, including Norfolk Naval Shipyard and Portsmouth Naval Shipyard. Unveiled in 2018, the plan would upgrade aging
dry-docks to continuing servicing ships and submarines. A 2022 study found the cost to fully implement the plan has grown by at least $4 billion and is expected to increase further, according to the U.S. Government Accountability Office.
With roots tracing to 1767, the shipyard employs around 6,000 military personnel and 11,000 civilian workers.
At a ribbon-cutting ceremony, Rear Adm. Maria “Lore” Aguayo, commander
with Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command Atlantic, said the project faced several pandemic challenges, such as significant manufacturing delays and skilled labor shortages.
“However, the team worked together seamlessly and always found a way to keep moving forward,” she said.