NASSCO Dry-Docks the USS ESSEX May 17, 1999 -- SAN DIEGO, CA -- National Steel and Shipbuilding Company (NASSCO) today dry-docked the USS ESSEX (LHD-2), the first amphibious assault ship to undergo a planned maintenance dry-docking in San Diego under a $490-million U.S. Navy contract awarded to NASSCO in December 1997. The LHDs and LHAs being maintained under this contract are large, sophisticated amphibious warfare ships that transport Marines, assault vehicles and aircraft to combat zones. The USS ESSEX is 844 feet long and 106 feet wide. As a condition of being awarded this contract, NASSCO completed a 200-foot extension of its floating dry dock in December 1998. The dry dock was cut in half in NASSCO's graving dock and a 200-foot section added to its center at a cost of $22 million. This improvement expanded the dry dock to a length of 785 feet, which allows it to accommodate the larger LHDs and LHAs. Work on the ship began on May 3, with the dry-docked portion of the maintenance running from May 17 to June 26. The ship will be returned to the water on June 26 for additional work that will be completed on September 3. Maintenance includes major boiler repair, underwater hull preservation, shaft and propeller overhaul, and machinery work. The Navy has stated that this contract was awarded to NASSCO to improve the quality of life of the sailors serving on these large amphibious ships. Previously, the ships have been sent to the Navy shipyard in Bremerton, Washington, for four to nine months of overhaul. Now their crews are able to stay with their families in San Diego during periods when the ships need to be dry-docked. ICI Terrell Davis, Sailor of the Year on the USS ESSEX, represented the ship's crew of more than 1,000 officers and sailors when he pressed the switch that began the dry-docking process. Maintenance of the USS ESSEX is expected to provide 200,000 man-hours of work for NASSCO employees during the four-month availability. The phased maintenance of six LHD- and LHA-class ships is a seven-year contract with an option for an additional two years. In addition to the USS ESSEX, the ships are the USS TARAWA (LHA-1), USS BELLEAU WOOD (LHA-3), USS PELELIU (LHA-5), USS BOXER (LHD-4) and USS BONHOMME RICHARD (LHD-6). NASSCO will team with Southwest Marine, Inc., Continental Maritime Industries and Pacific Ship Repair and Fabrication, Inc., to accomplish the work. NASSCO, a division of General Dynamics' Marine Group, is the only West Coast shipyard capable of building and repairing large, ocean-going vessels. The shipyard employs approximately 4,000. More information on NASSCO can be obtained from the company's Web site at www.nassco.com.

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