Free Republic

The Bath shipyard has contracts to build 11 new DDG-51 Arleigh Burke-class destroyers for the Navy over the next eight years. Bath Iron Works is known for building Navy warships from the ground up, but if it wants to stay in business it has to do the same to its workforce. The shipyard is in the midst of a massive hiring push to finish a backlog of ship work and reinforce its army of mechanics, many of whom are nearing retirement age. With Maine’s historically low 3 percent unemployment rate and a statewide skilled labor shortage, BIW can’t afford to...

The first Flight III Arleigh Burke guided missile destroyer will be built at General Dynamics Bath Iron Works, according to a Sunday statement from the Navy to USNI News. Last week, the Navy issued a pre-solicitation notice on FedBizOpps stating the service intended to issue a Request for Proposal to Bath Iron Works for a Burke DDG “and associated supplies and services which are anticipated to be delivered in the Flight III configuration,” read the notice. The ship will feature the first operational installation of the Raytheon AN/SPY-6 Air and Missile Defense Radar (AMDR) – an active electronically scanned array...

A time lapse shot of the USS Zumwalt being moved from the pier to the drydock, and then to the water.

Milestone marked on stealthy destroyer under construction at Maine's Bath Iron Works DAVID SHARP Associated Press BATH, Maine — Two daughters and son of the late Adm. Elmo "Bud" Zumwalt helped Bath Iron Works mark a milestone Thursday in construction of the largest ship to be built in more than two decades at the shipyard. The ship's co-sponsors, Ann Zumwalt and Mouzetta Zumwalt-Weathers, were accompanied by their brother, retired Marine Lt. Col James G. Zumwalt, at a ceremony marking the "laying of the keel," a Navy tradition dating to the days of sail, when the ship's keel served as the...

Could Saudi Arabia be Bath Iron Works’ next big customer? Pat Wellenbach | AP The christening of the Murphy, the last in a series of Arleigh Burke class destroyers, takes place in May at Bath Iron Works' shipyard in Bath, Maine. The Arleight Burke class of destroyer is among those being considered by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as the country seeks to overhaul its seaborne military. By Seth Koenig, BDN Staff Posted Aug. 31, 2011, at 7:17 p.m. BATH, Maine — Historically a dealer of warships exclusively to the U.S. Navy, Bath Iron Works may find itself a new...

A rendering of the DDG-1000 Zumwalt, the U.S. Navy's next-generation destroyer, which has been funded to be built at Bath Iron Works. AP/Bath Iron Works BATH — With Saturday's christening of the last-in-a-series Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, shipbuilders at Maine's Bath Iron Works are turning more of their attention to construction of a larger, stealthier and more expensive warship that will be like no other built at the shipyard. The shipyard is wrapping up the original production run of Burkes as it shifts production to three next-generation destroyers, the largest surface warships to be built in Bath. Already under construction, the...

Tuesday, February 8, 2005 Warship reductions likely to hurt BIW By MATT WICKENHEISER, Portland Press Herald Writer Copyright © 2005 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc. E-mail this story to a friend -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ADVERTISEMENT -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Staff photo by Derek Davis Cuts in spending on naval destroyers, as proposed by President Bush, could have a severe impact on Bath Iron Works. President Bush would cut the fiscal 2006 budget for the next generation of naval destroyers by nearly a quarter - or $586 million - under a plan released Monday. If approved, the cuts could lead to a major drop in future work...