Transfer of Japan-Bound Carrier to Drain Millions From Economy : Military: With more than $100 million a year in contracts, services and salaries at stake, local officials regret loss of Independence.

San Diego will lose more than $100 million in Navy contracts, services and payroll when the aircraft carrier Independence departs for Japan in 1991, Navy officials said Friday.

The move, meant to reassure Japan that it remains the linchpin of the U.S. Pacific defense, has surprised few but shaken many. And, for the first time in more than 20 years, San Diego will have only one aircraft carrier, the Ranger, based here.

“The impact on the community is not only ship repair companies but other businesses, and it’s going to have a heck of an impact,” said David Bain, president of Pacific Ship Repair and Fabrications. “We are all going to be hurt.”

Defense Secretary Dick Cheney told Japanese officials this week that the Independence would replace the World War II-era carrier Midway. The Independence will take to Yokosuka its 2,836 officers and crew, as well as three squadrons with 530 pilots and crew, said Senior Chief Petty Officer Bob Howard, spokesman for the Naval Air Force U.S. Pacific Fleet.

Although the move has long been expected, some congressmen said they will fight to bring another carrier to the city.

“It is very important not only to the San Diego community, which has always supported the Navy, but to our Navy presence in the Pacific that the Navy commit one of the new carriers . . . to San Diego,” said Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-San Diego) in a letter sent Friday to Secretary of the Navy Lawrence Garrett. “It is essential that a strong carrier presence be maintained in San Diego.”

Confirmation of the Independence’s new assignment comes only 10 days after the departure of the aircraft carrier Constellation, which will undergo a 29-month overhaul at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard. The Constellation is scheduled to return in 1993, once its $750-million refurbishment is completed.

But, in recent years, San Diego has been home to three carriers: Constellation, Independence and the Ranger. And the eight San Diego shipyards, which have divvied up about $25 million in repairs for each carrier annually, will now start to scramble, Pacific Ship’s Bain said.

“If we only have one carrier sitting here, and there are other reductions in the defense budget, you aren’t going to have eight shipyards in San Diego--not that I’ll be one of the ones leaving,” Bain said.

Bain, like officials at other ship repair companies, has tried to diversify his business to include more work on other types of ships. In 1989, aircraft carrier repairs made up 75% of Bain’s business, including about $8 million in repairs to the Independence. This year, he expects 40% of his business to be devoted to carriers.

The Midway, scheduled to be retired in 1991, will be decommissioned in San Diego after its trip from Japan, Howard said. The carrier will remain overseas until the Independence arrives. It is not known whether the carrier will be sold or turned into scrap metal.

The Independence’s presence in Japan means a significant upgrading of military power because the carrier is host to the F-14 Tomcat--a high-performance fighter jet that the Midway could not accommodate, Howard said.

The Independence’s salaries, repair and supply contracts add up to $104 million a year, Howard said. “That’s a $100-million decision to San Diego.”

But some predict that another carrier will soon call the city its home, easing the sting of the transfer.

“I am very optimistic. I have no doubt in my mind that, by the time the Independence goes, we will have a ship named to replace it--if not already,” said Pete Litrenta, vice president of military affairs with the San Diego Chamber of Commerce.

Others said that the loss is not nearly as great as it might have been in a time of military budget cuts and proposed base closures.

“I am sorry to see us lose the economic benefits of the Independence, but, on balance, with base closings and other military consolidations, I think San Diego won’t lose,” said Rep. Jim Bates (D-San Diego). “While I regret its leaving, I think we are still strong.”