The Navy issued a $49.4 million contract to fully fund the repairs to the USS Porter (DDG-78) putting aside one of the last iconic effects of a combined Fiscal Year 2013 Continuing Resolution and mandatory sequestration budget cuts, according to a Tuesday release from Naval Sea Systems Command.
“This contract award puts the Navy in the optimal position to return this vital asset to the fleet in the most efficient, effective and timely manner,” read a quote attributed to Rear Adm. Jim Shannon, NAVSEA’s deputy commander for surface warfare in a prepared statement.
The contract award to BAE Systems Norfolk Ship Repair combines repairs to damage the ship suffered during an Aug. 12, 2012 Strait of Hormuz transit in which Porter collided with a Japanese oil tanker with a separate planned availability to upgrade and modernize the ship, according to NAVSEA.
Porter returned to homeport Naval Station Norfolk, Va. in November after undergoing a brief maintenance while still deployed.
Delays in maintenance to Porter were part of a series of maintenance availabilities the Navy said it had to defer on account of mandatory sequestration budget cuts and a Continuing Resolution.
Delays in repairs to Los Angeles-class attack submarine USS Miami, damaged last year in an act of arson, and delays in refueling the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln were highlighted by the Navy as effects from Continuing Resolution and sequester cuts.
Since Congress passed a fully funded Fiscal Year 2013 defense budget in late March, the Navy has restored repairs to Miami, Lincoln and now Porter.
