U.S. Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro confirmed last week that 26 Navy ships received faulty welds at the Huntington Ingalls Industries shipyard, which is located in Newport News, Virginia.
In a letter to Congress on October 3, Del Toro explained that “potential deficiencies with welds on in-service and new construction U.S. Navy submarines and aircraft carriers” were recently discovered. Del Toro noted that three in-service ships had been affected and that the ships had been identified as the USS George Washington aircraft carrier and the USS Hyman G. Rickover and USS New Jersey attack submarines.
Del Toro wrote, “While I am deeply disappointed about this failure to uphold quality on the part of the shipyard required by contract, my top priority is ensuring the safety of our Sailors and platforms and communicating transparently with the Congress and the American people. The safety of our Sailors and ships is of paramount importance.”
In his letter to Congress, Del Toro explained that he was alerted to the welding issue on September 24.
The discovery of the faulty Navy ship welds was first revealed to the public roughly two weeks ago after USNI News cited a Navy memo and reported that the Navy had been informed by Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) that shipyard workers did not follow proper welding techniques on noncritical areas of the ships. At the time, USNI News reported that some of the shipbuilding issues appeared to be intentional.
Del Toro’s letter to Congress comes after the House Armed Services Committee sent a letter to Del Toro demanding answers and asking for a briefing regarding the issue.
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“We want to understand the scope of the problem,” committee members stated. “The safety of our sailors is our top concern, and we must immediately understand any risks associated with the faulty work.”
In last week’s letter to Congress, Del Toro emphasized that the Naval Sea Systems Command “has assessed that the welds were not components or systems that affect ship safety or operations” and that the Navy had “determined the ships are safe to operate.”
Newport News Shipbuilding President Jennifer Boykin released a post on LinkedIn last week, thanking the workers who “did the right thing and came forward by either self-reporting or calling the HII OpenLine” for their “honesty and bravery.” Boykin emphasized that the United States depends on the shipyard to “deliver the highest quality ships.”
According to Military.com, Todd Corillo, a Huntington Ingalls Industries spokesperson, said that after the reports were filed, the company “followed our protocol, took action to communicate with our customers and regulators in a timely manner and began working the issue with the Navy.”
