2016

Karen Turner

Cargo to India

2/8/2016

A Makeover of Massive Military Cargo Ship at Dry Dock No. 3

A MAKEOVER OF MASSIVE MILITARY CARGO SHIP AT DRY DOCK NO. 3

This 821 Feet Long Cargo Ship Is One of The

Largest Cargo Ships Used by US military

At Dry Dock No. 3 at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, one of the largest cargo ships, the Pfc. Eugene A.

Obregon has arrived for a routine inspection and repairs. This is not the sort of vessel that delivers sea

cargo to India or like that. Rather, this 50,000-tonne vessel with its length of more than two football

fields is big enough to transport ammunition, helicopters, Humvees, trucks and tanks to U.S. military

fleets around the globe.

The bid to work on this massive cargo ship has won by Northeast Ship Repair which is also the owner of

second dock in Boston and Philadelphia Ship Repair.

Edward Snyder, presiden and CEO of Northeast Ship Repair said that 100 welders, fitters, labourers,

machinists, electricians, and riggers will be working till early February to finish the work on the Obregon

which arrived on Dry Dock No. 3 from Newport News, Va., before Christmas.

On the East and Gulf Coasts, Dry Dock No. 3 at the old Philadelphia Naval Shipyard is one of half a dozen

repair yards that are spacious enough to accommodate RORO cargo ships that are longer than 750 feet.

The Obregon is 821 feet long and there is no other place better than Dry Dock No. 3.

A MAKEOVER OF MASSIVE MILITARY CARGO SHIP AT DRY DOCK NO. 3

The Boston ship yard and Philadelphia ship yard are capable of handling one large ship at a time in dry

dock but if the work together, they might do six to eight in a year. Depending on the scope of the job,

the contract range from $2 million to $12 million.

It is required by the Coast Guard to

dry dock every government and

commercial ship, that sail in U.S.

waters, every three to five years for

thorough inspection. Explaining this Snyder said that “even if a ship sat at a pier for four years, it is still required to do all the

maintenance, including propeller, valve, and machinery inspection, paintwork, and blasting and coating

the outside hull.”

A MAKEOVER OF MASSIVE MILITARY CARGO SHIP AT DRY DOCK NO. 3

Snyder said that about 75- to 80-percent of their work is government- contracted and in 2014 they were

landed an $8.5 million government contract. They were given the task to strip down five aged Navy

guide-missile frigates at the Philadelphia Navy Yard. Those vessels were salvaged for parts and

equipment to be used by the Navy on other active Navy ships.

Original Resource:

http://www.cargotoindia.co.uk/blog/a-makeover-of-massive-military-cargo-ship-at-dry-dock-no-3/

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