Mississippi’s electrical market has reason to cheer with the news this week that its Ingalls shipyard in Pascagoula, MS, will be the beneficiary of two huge contracts from the U.S. Navy that are expected to keep the Ingalls facility busy for the next several years.
The U.S. Navy awarded two separate contracts totaling approximately $9.5 billion for procurement of one America-class amphibious assault ship (LHA) and three San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock (LPD) ships to Huntington Ingalls Industries, Ingalls Shipbuilding Division, and its Pascagoula shipyard.
A press release at www.navsea.navy.mil said that by using a multi-ship procurement approach, the Navy is projected to achieve more than $901 million in cost avoidance as compared to the use of annual contracts.
The press release from the U.S. Navy said the long-term contract agreements align with Secretary of the Navy Del Toro’s maritime statecraft initiatives to make naval shipbuilding more cost effective while promoting shipyard stability and investment. The agreements provide stable shipyard workload well into the early 2030s, providing a consistent demand signal to vendors.
“The importance of this multiple amphibious ship purchase cannot be overstated with respect to our whole-of-government effort to restore the maritime capabilities of the United States,” said Del Toro, in the release. “This purchase sends a steady demand signal to our shipbuilding industrial base that our Navy is actively investing in our shipbuilding infrastructure.”
Ingalls has for years been a major shipbuilder for the U.S Navy and a report at www.workboat.com said approximately half of all Ingalls shipbuilders build amphibious ships today, with another 650 supplier partners in 39 states across the country that provide components for the construction of amphibious ships.