Modifications now under way at Dry Dock 12 will allow Newport News Shipbuilding to keep pace with the ambitious construction schedule necessitated by the two-carrier contract for Enterprise (CVN 80) and Doris Miller (CVN 81).

Dry Dock 12 was designed to build commercial ships. At 2,173 feet in length, it is the largest dry dock in North America, said John Anderson, senior dockmaster.

The days of commercial ship construction at NNS are long gone, but the planned modifications will allow the shipyard to maintain a heel-to-toe build rate for the two carriers, making the massive dry dock more relevant than ever.

“The challenge with a two-ship buy is to be able to maintain the construction schedule for CVN 81 while launching CVN 80,” said Anderson.

That challenge was complicated by the COVID-19 pandemic, which hit the region one year after the two-carrier contract was signed, slowing the nation’s economy. NNS couldn’t afford to lose time when it came to the two carriers.

The solution: Install an intermediate gate lock across Dry Dock 12 that will allow the completed CVN 80 to be floated out, when ready, while work continues on CVN 81 components farther back in the dry dock.

Dry Dock 12 has accommodated two ships in the past. USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) was floated out of the dock while a commercial tanker was in the east end, Anderson said. But in that case, the entire dock was flooded and both ships were floated.

“In this case, we are going to have a completed CVN 80 on the west end and only parts and pieces of CVN 81 on the east end,” Anderson explained. “We couldn’t fill up the entire Dry Dock 12 to launch CVN 80.”

Work has begun on the intermediate gate lock. Completion is expected in the first quarter of 2024.

CVN 80 is currently in the east end of the dock. Once NNS completes a floatable box section of the ship, it will be transferred to the west end of the dock to make room for CVN 81.

NNS considered several scenarios for accommodating both ships before settling on this one. The concept is relatively simple, and it represents the most cost-effective and lowest-risk solution.

“We do make it look easy from a high level, but that’s the way we want it to look,” Anderson said.

Anderson said the project is another example of turning a potential obstacle into a positive.

“Every day, you’ve got high tides and low tides,” he said. “Every tide is a tide of opportunity. We’ve got to look at these challenges as opportunities to show everybody in the world what we’re capable of.”