NAVAL STATION EVERETT – The barges aren’t gone, but they’re ready to be forgotten.
Naval Station Everett celebrated the opening this week of its new $10.5 million ship maintenance facility, and is beginning to bid farewell to three World War II-era barges that some might say are the ugliest things afloat at the Navy base.
There’s no dispute, though, that the barges have played a vital role in preparing Everett’s warships, including the carrier USS Lincoln, for deployment. Used by sailors who maintain guns, repair computers and replace engines and rigging for Navy ships, the big gray barges weren’t in the original plans for the base before it opened in 1994.
Instead, the Navy had hoped to build a $20 million maintenance facility. But funding never was approved, leaving the Navy to ship the three barges from Bremerton.
They’ve been here ever since.
On Wednesday, almost 200 sailors who work in Puget Sound Naval Shipyard’s Everett detachment streamed into their spacious new workplace.
“This is a big step up. Everything is neat, clean and organized,” said Petty Officer 1st Class Omar Ochoa, a gunner’s mate who works in the ordnance shop. “Everything is nice and consolidated.”
Cmdr. Robert Loken, the officer in charge of the Everett detachment, agreed. The new complex has pulled everyone under one roof, and, combined with new equipment, may lead to a 20 percent increase in the unit’s capabilities, Loken said.
Construction, which cost $6 million, started in April 2003 and wrapped up in February. More than 200 tons of equipment was moved into the building, formerly a supply warehouse for ships stationed here.
Despite the gleaming metal and fresh paint in the new facility, talk of the tattered trio of barges was unavoidable at the opening. Loken recalled times when the divers’ washing machine overflowed and swamped nearby work spaces and the constant questioning from base commander Capt. Daniel Squires: “Are the barges gone yet?”
Loken, however, gave Squires a way to move the barges immediately. He gave Squires his own version of the “Ouija” board, the nickname given to the miniaturized 3-D map that’s found in an aircraft carrier’s flight deck control.
Unlike the normal Navy “Ouija” board, Loken’s version didn’t have tiny models of military planes to move around. Instead, he gave Squires two barge icons to move around the board, which featured an aerial photograph of Naval Station Everett and its piers.
The real barges, though, will stay at Naval Station Everett’s south wharf for a few more months. The vessels must be readied for their return to the Navy, which could end up scrapping them if they can’t be used elsewhere.
Squires is still anxious to see the barges leave. Once they’re gone, he said, the south wharf can be used to host visiting Coast Guard ships and other vessels.
Reporter Brian Kelly: 425-339-3422 or kelly@heraldnet.com.
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