NEWPORT NEWS — Northrop Grumman Corp. and the U.S. Navy have launched a sweeping probe of 13 vessels built or serviced in the Newport News shipyard since 2005, prompted by an admission from a Northrop employee that he falsified reports on the quality of welds that he was supposed to have inspected.
The inspector worked on submarines and aircraft carriers, the company and the service confirmed Friday. The inspector has since been fired.
The welding inspector admitted on May 14 to signing off on inspections without having performed them, the company confirmed Friday.
A co-worker tipped off the inspector's supervisor of the falsified inspection documents, the company said.
Northrop informed the Navy about the problems a day later. The company said the inspector signed off on three weld-joint inspections that he did not perform, said Patricia K. Dolan, a Navy spokeswoman.
That prompted a joint Northrop-Navy probe that will stretch far beyond the three welds initially found to be uninspected.
The worker, whom the company declined to identify because of the ongoing investigation, was certified to do weld inspections in 2005, two sources said. In the four years since, he's inspected and signed off on thousands of structural and piping welds, including those on Virginia-class submarines and aircraft carriers built and serviced in Newport News, the Navy said.
Each Navy vessel built in Newport News requires hundreds of thousands of welds to construct.
The Naval Criminal Investigative Service, also known as NCIS, was informed about the inspection falsifications on May 20 and launched an investigation on Wednesday.
The goal is "to gather the facts of what happened, didn't happen, should have happened," said Ed Buice, an NCIS spokesman. "Once the fact-finding is concluded, we will forward the information to the appropriate authority to decide the next course of action."
While Buice said NCIS could not comment on the details of an ongoing investigation, he said potential action could include criminal charges.
Three of the ships affected were under way this week, but the Navy said Friday that none of the welds on ships the worker inspected present an immediate risk.
Northrop, which declined substantive comment on the specifics of the investigation, classified the falsified documents as an isolated incident.
"This a job performance issue by an individual and primarily involves the inspection of welds as opposed to the welds and weld processes themselves, though all of these matters are under review," said Margaret G. Mitchell-Jones, a company spokeswoman. "It's important to note that the issue regarding this inspector became apparent due to the diligence and accountability of the individual's co-workers."
The joint probe becomes the second active investigation into welding practices and inspections at the Newport News shipyard.
In late 2007, Northrop found that its welders and pipe fitters used an incorrect weld-filler material containing copper to fuse pipes to steel joints in non-nuclear systems on submarines and surface ships. Those errors could lead to weaknesses in those joints and eventually cause cracking and leaks.
The issue led to a Navy investigation of all vessels built or repaired in Newport News between 2000 and 2007, which was completed last year. It also spurred a round of mandatory training for the yard's thousands of welders and pipe fitters.
That probe is continuing, the Navy said.
Both the Navy and the shipyard emphasized that the two investigations are unrelated.
"These are two completely separate issues," Dolan said. "The first issue was process-related; the new one is a personnel problem related to one inspector."
The inspector worked on submarines and aircraft carriers, the company and the service confirmed Friday. The inspector has since been fired.
The welding inspector admitted on May 14 to signing off on inspections without having performed them, the company confirmed Friday.
A co-worker tipped off the inspector's supervisor of the falsified inspection documents, the company said.
Northrop informed the Navy about the problems a day later. The company said the inspector signed off on three weld-joint inspections that he did not perform, said Patricia K. Dolan, a Navy spokeswoman.
That prompted a joint Northrop-Navy probe that will stretch far beyond the three welds initially found to be uninspected.
The worker, whom the company declined to identify because of the ongoing investigation, was certified to do weld inspections in 2005, two sources said. In the four years since, he's inspected and signed off on thousands of structural and piping welds, including those on Virginia-class submarines and aircraft carriers built and serviced in Newport News, the Navy said.
Each Navy vessel built in Newport News requires hundreds of thousands of welds to construct.
The Naval Criminal Investigative Service, also known as NCIS, was informed about the inspection falsifications on May 20 and launched an investigation on Wednesday.
The goal is "to gather the facts of what happened, didn't happen, should have happened," said Ed Buice, an NCIS spokesman. "Once the fact-finding is concluded, we will forward the information to the appropriate authority to decide the next course of action."
While Buice said NCIS could not comment on the details of an ongoing investigation, he said potential action could include criminal charges.
Three of the ships affected were under way this week, but the Navy said Friday that none of the welds on ships the worker inspected present an immediate risk.
Northrop, which declined substantive comment on the specifics of the investigation, classified the falsified documents as an isolated incident.
"This a job performance issue by an individual and primarily involves the inspection of welds as opposed to the welds and weld processes themselves, though all of these matters are under review," said Margaret G. Mitchell-Jones, a company spokeswoman. "It's important to note that the issue regarding this inspector became apparent due to the diligence and accountability of the individual's co-workers."
The joint probe becomes the second active investigation into welding practices and inspections at the Newport News shipyard.
In late 2007, Northrop found that its welders and pipe fitters used an incorrect weld-filler material containing copper to fuse pipes to steel joints in non-nuclear systems on submarines and surface ships. Those errors could lead to weaknesses in those joints and eventually cause cracking and leaks.
The issue led to a Navy investigation of all vessels built or repaired in Newport News between 2000 and 2007, which was completed last year. It also spurred a round of mandatory training for the yard's thousands of welders and pipe fitters.
That probe is continuing, the Navy said.
Both the Navy and the shipyard emphasized that the two investigations are unrelated.
"These are two completely separate issues," Dolan said. "The first issue was process-related; the new one is a personnel problem related to one inspector."
