Repair Firms Fear Losses in Navy Plan to Move Ships
San Diego area shipbuilding and repair companies, which already have lost $70 million in contracts this year, would suffer further from the U.S. Navy’s plan to disperse its ships throughout the country, the president of the industry’s association said Wednesday.
The picture could brighten a bit for the companies, however, if the aircraft carrier Independence, which is expected to be reassigned to San Diego, needs work after its overhaul is completed in Philadelphia.
If not, the Navy’s controversial “strategic homeporting” plan will just add to the woes of the nine major contractors and 34 subcontractors in the area, said Irving Refkin, president of the Port of San Diego Ship Repair Assn.
The homeporting plan, proposed by Secretary of the Navy John F. Lehman Jr., would spread the nation’s fleet, now being increased to 600 ships, in ports on three coasts instead of basing them in large ports such as San Diego and Norfolk, Va., as they are now. The House of Representatives has voted against the plan but the Senate supports it, and a conference committee will meet to determine the proposal’s future.
Under the plan, the Navy will move 10 ships from San Diego. Combined with other losses because of attrition, that means San Diego will have lost a total of 19 Navy ships between 1980 and 1993.
Proponents of the plan--including Lehman and Sen. Pete Wilson (R-Calif.)--argue that the naval presence here will not decline because larger ships will replace those sent elsewhere, and seven new helicopter squadrons will be stationed at North Island Naval Air Station.
Navy spokesman Mark Baker added that the move will also lessen overcrowding at jammed naval piers and reduce waiting lists of up to 24 months for naval housing.
“Strategic homeporting is good for the Navy on the whole, it’s good for California and it’s good for San Diego,” said Linda Royster, Wilson’s press secretary.
All four San Diego congressmen oppose the plan, as does U.S. Sen. Alan Cranston, (D-Calif.). But in the Senate, it has the backing of Sen. Mark Hatfield (R-Ore.), powerful chairman of the Appropriations Committee.
“I think it’s going to be very difficult to defeat strategic homeporting,” said John Palafoutas, staff director for Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Coronado). “Hatfield wields an awful lot of power and he is committed to homeporting.”
According to Refkin, three of the area’s major naval contractors “are on the verge” of filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. RMI Inc. declared bankruptcy Monday, said Refkin, adding that the shipbuilding and repair industry has lost $70 million in contracts this year.
Refkin said his association’s members--which range from giants like National Steel & Shipbuilding Co. to tiny subcontractors--currently employ about 6,000 people. They could lose 1,800 jobs in the next two years, he said.
The industry’s problems are compounded by the loss of commercial business because of the departure of many tuna fishermen, along with the Navy’s decision to allow companies along the entire West Coast to bid on repair contracts formerly set aside for companies in the fleet’s home port. San Diego was most deeply affected by that move because the city harbors the largest Navy fleet on the West Coast, he said.
Mark Albrecht, Wilson’s legislative assistant for national security affairs, said the industry’s woes reflect the loss of most commercial shipbuilding to companies overseas. Also, he said shipbuilding has slowed because the Navy’s buildup from 450 ships to 600 is almost complete.
Navy spokesman Mark Baker said that the number of active Navy personnel in San Diego will remain steady at 87,000 despite the loss of ships to homeporting. Seven light helicopter squadrons will be brought to North Island, he said, and some of the new ships berthed here in the future will be larger and carry more sailors.
“San Diego loses some cruisers and destroyers as part of this plan. It gains some submarines and helicopter squadrons that will mean the net naval presence in San Diego is the same,” Albrecht said. “The Navy is maintaining its commitment to San Diego as one of its--if not its premier--naval facilities in the continental United States.”
He added that Wilson recognizes the ship repair industry’s troubles and is working with the Navy to bring more work here.
A government source confirmed that the Independence is scheduled to replace the Kitty Hawk as the third aircraft carrier in San Diego after a major overhaul of the Independence now being conducted in Philadelphia is completed. The Kitty Hawk’s home port is to be Pensacola, Fla.
San Diego ship repair companies will benefit if the Independence needs work, Refkin said, but they will not pick up business from submarines or helicopters. The continued steady naval presence will not help the industry, he said.
