George Washington Carrier Repair Continues

By dialogic In Rennovation

30

Mar
2022

The USS George Washington entered its mid-life Refueling and Complex Overhaul (RCOH) in August of 2017 with the process expected to finish after four years. With the 2020 pandemic, however, the overhaul with its budget of 2.8 billion USD, was delayed and is now expected to finish by May 2022.

The George Washington Carrier

The George Washington aircraft carrier is nuclear powered and was christened in July 1990 before being commissioned in 1992 at the Naval Station Norfolk. It’s only the fourth Navy ship to be named after the United States’ first president but it is the first nuclear-powered carrier deployed in 2008 bound for Yokosuka, Japan. It belongs to the Nimitz class and is one of the ten carriers made by the Newport News Shipbuilding Company. Until the arrival of the USS Gerald R. Ford in 2017, the Nimitz Class carriers were the largest warships with a full load displacement of over 100,000 tons.

Midlife and Repair

With an estimated lifespan of 50 years, all navy carriers enter RCOH once they hit their midlife service term. For George Washington, this happened in August 2017 when it was dry-docked at Hill Newport News Shipbuilding. From the moment the repairs started until August of 2019, repairs were right on schedule and should meet their target completion date in 2021. Unfortunately, labor restrictions made it impossible to meet the deadline.

According to the Navy, the COVID 19 pandemic made it impossible to continue work on the George Washington. Some of the workers were required to quarantine after a positive case, significantly reducing the number of workers on the job. On top of this, stricter cross-border guidelines created gaps in the supply chain.

The repair process picked up as suppliers started to get back on track in providing the Navy with necessary materials. We here at Dialogic Fasteners take great pride in delivering military-grade specialty wholesale fasteners from machine screws, bolt, set screws, ANSI bolts, locking element parts, short-run specials, pins, clamps, and more. As the primary supplier of fasteners around the world, we can also provide industrial fasteners, medical-grade fasteners, and other specialty fasteners for civilian needs. With more than thirty years of experience in the industry, we are confident that our technology is capable of meeting the industry needs and expectations of both the government and the private sector.

In the case of Carrier George Washington, the public will be glad to know that our contributions helped put the project back on track. As the COVID19 restrictions slowly eased, the refueling and repair of the George Washington carrier continues on a new schedule. According to the Naval Sea Systems spokesman, the RCOH is already 92.5% complete and should be finished by 2022.

Get Your Specialty Fastener Needs Here

We take great pride in being part of United States Naval history in restoring and repairing one of the most important ships in maritime history. If you have any questions or would like to avail of similar services, feel free to send us an email. Let’s talk about what we can do for your fastener needs!