Navy delays Vinson overhaul

BREMERTON — The Navy will delay the refueling and complex overhaul of the Bremerton-based aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson until fall 2005, more than a year later than originally planned.

The decision announced Thursday will again briefly make Bremerton a two-carrier town, and is part of a major shuffling of work at shipyards here and in Virginia.

The Navy said it wants to keep the Vinson available to deploy in the Pacific quickly, and that the delay will help stabilize the workload in the Virginia shipyards.

The Vinson’s $3 billion, three-year overhaul and nuclear refueling had been scheduled to begin in May 2004 at Newport News, Va.

The decision was "based on a compilation of factors — most importantly, there’s enough fuel" in the Vinson’s two reactors to allow the delay, Adm. Skip Bowman, director of naval nuclear propulsion, told The Sun of Bremerton.

"Secondly, in this day and age of not knowing what’s around the corner, a ready carrier asset is certainly important to us. We looked at that very favorably. Third, it helps level work in some of the shipyards as we look at the big picture."

The San Diego-based carrier USS John C. Stennis is scheduled to be moved to Bremerton in late 2004 to enter the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard for a year of dry-dock maintenance. That means two aircraft carriers based in Bremerton at the same time — a boost to the local economy, but potential problems for Navy families seeking housing.

Each aircraft carrier has a crew of about 3,200, not counting their air wings, and each ship has a monthly payroll of more than $3 million.

Because the Vinson’s deployment schedule is not yet known, the two ships could be at Bremerton for as little as one or two months, or as long as nine.

The Bremerton area already had a spike in housing sales and the rental market this year when the Everett-based carrier USS Abraham Lincoln entered the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in June for nearly 11 months of maintenance. Many Lincoln crew members moved across Puget Sound from Everett to avoid the long commute.

Before the Vinson’s delay could be finalized, the Navy had to determine whether the 20-year-old ship had sufficient nuclear fuel in its two reactors for another year of service.

The Vinson, which returned in late September from an eight-month deployment, is the first Pacific Fleet ship designated as a "ready carrier," meaning it will be the first to be called upon if needed.