A sailor welds metal to the deck onboard the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis in Newport News, Va., in October 2023. (Curtis Burdick/U.S. Navy)
Newport News Shipbuilding has notified the Navy and Department of Justice that welding done on some submarines and aircraft carriers at its shipyard was defective, according to a report Thursday by USNI News.
The faulty welds, which may have been done intentionally, were made on noncritical components on in-service subs and carriers, the report states.
Newport News Shipbuilding, a division of Huntington Ingalls Industries, is the sole maker of carriers for the Navy and one of only two firms that make submarines.
Huntington Ingalls told the Navy that welding not following proper procedure was discovered on new construction and submarines and on Ford-class aircraft carriers now in service, USNI reported.
The report cited a memo from Nickolas Guertin, assistant secretary of the Navy for research, development and acquisition, to Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro and Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Lisa Franchetti.
The memo said welders did not follow proper methods in welding certain joints, and it appeared that the faulty work was done intentionally, USNI reported.
The shipbuilder informed the Department of Justice of its findings, the report said.
In a statement to USNI on Thursday, Newport News said its internal reporting discovered that some welds did not meet its quality standards.
“Upon this discovery, we took immediate action to communicate with our customers and regulators, investigate, determine root cause, bound these matters and insert immediate corrective actions to prevent any recurrence of these issues,” the statement read.
“HII’s Newport News Shipbuilding is committed to building the highest-quality aircraft carriers and submarines for the U.S. Navy,” the statement continued. “We do not tolerate any conduct that compromises our company’s values and our mission of delivering ships that safeguard our nation and its sailors.”
The Navy said in a statement to USNI Thursday that “a thorough evaluation is underway to determine the scope” of the problem.
“The safety of our Sailors and our ships is of paramount importance,” the statement read. “We are working closely with industry partners to address this situation and will provide additional information when available.”
America’s shipyards have been grappling for years with a shortage of workers, a problem exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Del Toro, while speaking in April at the Stimson Institute, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank, said supply-chain issues arising from the pandemic had hindered shipyards’ ability to meet delivery schedules for ships.
A bigger problem, however, was the “lack of blue-collar workers that we have in this country,” Del Toro said.
