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Delivery of submarine North Carolina is delayed again
For the second time, Northrop Grumman's Newport News shipyard has been forced to delay delivery of the attack submarine North Carolina.
The Navy said Tuesday that the vessel's planned delivery this month has been pushed to mid-February after the discovery of a steam valve that "did not meet specifications."
The problem was found during routine pre-delivery operations, said Alan Baribeau, a spokesman for Naval Sea Systems Command in Washington.
The valve is part of the high-tech sub's non-nuclear propulsion system, the Navy said in a statement.
"After an engineering evaluation the Navy decided to have the valve replaced rather than repaired to ensure the system's long-term operability," the Navy said.
The shipbuilder's contract with the Navy called for delivery of the $2.6 billion vessel in late December. But that date slid to January after a Navy investigation found at least one faulty or suspect piping weld inside sections of four Virginia-class submarines assembled at the Newport News yard.
That included two subs already in the fleet, the Texas and the Virginia.
Navy officials have said that the welding issue, which involved non-nuclear interior piping systems, is not as serious as initially feared. The problem was traced to shipyard welders or pipefitters who mistakenly used copper weld filler to connect pipes to corrosive-resistant steel joints. The resulting weak bond can cause the joint to leak.
As a precaution, the shipyard and the Navy are assessing pipe welds on all ships built or repaired by Newport News workers since 2000, including several aircraft carriers and Los Angeles-class submarines. The review is expected to be complete by the spring.
No faulty welds have been found on the North Carolina, the shipyard said.
Baribeau said the latest problem, involving the steam valve, is unrelated to the welding issue. He said he did not know how much it will cost to replace the valve, or specifics about the valve's function and why it did not meet specifications.
Shipyard spokeswoman Jerri Dickseski, who was traveling Tuesday, said in an e-mail that she had no information on the valve issue beyond what was in the Navy's statement.
Delivery of submarine North Carolina is delayed again
For the second time, Northrop Grumman's Newport News shipyard has been forced to delay delivery of the attack submarine North Carolina.
The Navy said Tuesday that the vessel's planned delivery this month has been pushed to mid-February after the discovery of a steam valve that "did not meet specifications."
The problem was found during routine pre-delivery operations, said Alan Baribeau, a spokesman for Naval Sea Systems Command in Washington.
The valve is part of the high-tech sub's non-nuclear propulsion system, the Navy said in a statement.
"After an engineering evaluation the Navy decided to have the valve replaced rather than repaired to ensure the system's long-term operability," the Navy said.
The shipbuilder's contract with the Navy called for delivery of the $2.6 billion vessel in late December. But that date slid to January after a Navy investigation found at least one faulty or suspect piping weld inside sections of four Virginia-class submarines assembled at the Newport News yard.
That included two subs already in the fleet, the Texas and the Virginia.
Navy officials have said that the welding issue, which involved non-nuclear interior piping systems, is not as serious as initially feared. The problem was traced to shipyard welders or pipefitters who mistakenly used copper weld filler to connect pipes to corrosive-resistant steel joints. The resulting weak bond can cause the joint to leak.
As a precaution, the shipyard and the Navy are assessing pipe welds on all ships built or repaired by Newport News workers since 2000, including several aircraft carriers and Los Angeles-class submarines. The review is expected to be complete by the spring.
No faulty welds have been found on the North Carolina, the shipyard said.
Baribeau said the latest problem, involving the steam valve, is unrelated to the welding issue. He said he did not know how much it will cost to replace the valve, or specifics about the valve's function and why it did not meet specifications.
Shipyard spokeswoman Jerri Dickseski, who was traveling Tuesday, said in an e-mail that she had no information on the valve issue beyond what was in the Navy's statement.