Long Beach : Navy Captain Acknowledges Poor Safety Rating

The commanding officer of the Long Beach Naval Shipyard acknowledged that the facility was issued an unsatisfactory rating by the naval inspector general earlier this year, but told the yard’s 5,100 workers that the situation is being corrected.

Navy Capt. Larry D. Johnson, writing in his weekly front-page column in the Sept. 2 edition of the shipyard newspaper, stated that the inspector general’s finding following a January inspection “does not equate to identifying (the shipyard) as an unsafe facility.

“The unsatisfactory finding does not reflect a deteriorating safety situation . . . since the last inspection, but rather, less than desired rate of progress in implementing the complete (Navy occupational safety and health) program.”

The column marked Johnson’s first comment on reports of safety shortcomings at the shipyard, as detailed Aug. 28 in The Times. He has declined requests for interviews.

He stated that improving the safety program at the shipyard has received top priority. Since the inspection, 60% of the recommendations to improve safety programs have been implemented and 70% of the workplace hazards identified have been fixed.