NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — The U.S. Navy says it's trying to figure out what led to faulty welding on ships that were built or repaired at Newport News Shipbuilding.
On Sept. 30, the shipyard's president, Jennifer Boykin, released a statement, saying leadership discovered the quality of welds on some submarines and at least one aircraft carrier were faulty.
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"Most concerning is that some of the welds in question were made by welders who knowingly violated weld procedures,” Boykin stated.
Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII), the parent organization of Newport News Shipbuilding, said that based on an initial investigation, the faulty welding did not appear malicious.
Three ships already in the fleet are impacted, according to an Oct. 3 letter from Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro to the House Armed Services Committee. That includes the aircraft carrier USS George Washington, which left Newport News in April 2024 after a refit. It replaced the USS Ronald Reagan in Japan.
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Del Toro said the Connectictut-based USS Hyman Rickover, commissioned on Oct. 14, 2023, was also impacted in addition to the USS New Jersey, commissioned less than a month ago.
"‘We have given top priority to the task of defining and examining the scope of improper welds conducted on operational in-service ships, and I have directed my Navy technical experts to co-locate with the Shipyard immediately to support a thorough review," Del Toro said in the letter.
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In the letter, Del Toro said that despite the issues, all of the vessels are safe to operate.
"NNS and Navy mechanical experts are progressing in the validation and remediation of specific welds on approximately 23 new construction, Refueling Complex Overhaul (RCOH) and ships in maintenance. This process involves assessing each weld to determine the degree of deficiency through a joint-by-joint analysis," he said.
John Kitchen, of Hampton, worked as a welder for over 40 years at the shipyard.
"[The] shipyard's been good to me. I love welding. I learned it quick. It became easy to me, and I felt like I was playing a very critical role for the country by working on these boats that will symbolize peace, but also could be used at war town," Kitchen said.
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He calls the situation with the faulty "concerning" and was shocked to hear some of the issues were intentional.
"It's devastating to me to hear that this is going on at my company I work for and retired from," Kitchen told News 3's Jay Greene.
Kitchen said faulty welding could lead to other dangers.
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"Look at a pipe. You put a defective pipe hanger on there. It breaks because maybe you didn't heat the weld, or whatever the case may be. It cracks. It fails. Puts more pressure on that pipe. It could crack the well crack. The pipe could be high-pressure steam. Steam could come out. The system would fail. Could injure or kill personnel, Navy personnel in the area. So it's very critical," he said.
"Every piece, every part, component and plate and piece of steel that's put on that ship from start to finish, is critical. It has a purpose, and it is designed by the engineers or designers and engineers to meet and exceed Navy specifications whenever it's below that, it could be problems, whether it's problems now or later," Kitchen shared.
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Kitchen believes giving welders more experience before moving into leadership roles could improve welding mishaps.
"The Navy is going to lose confidence and ability of the shipyard putting out good quality ships. And if we lose the customer, we've lost everything, and the shipyard has invested the capital investment for the future to be able to meet the needs of the Navy and build their ships," Kitchen said.
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HII released the following statement:
“HII’s Newport News Shipbuilding is committed to building the highest-quality aircraft carriers and submarines for the U.S. Navy. We do not tolerate any conduct that compromises our company’s values and our mission of delivering ships that safeguard our nation and its sailors. We discovered through internal reporting that some welders knowingly circumvented certain welding procedures. Based on our initial investigation, there is no indication of malicious intent. Upon this discovery, we took action to communicate with our customers and regulators, investigate, determine root causes, bound the issue, and put in place immediate corrective actions as we work through longer-term solutions.”
HII said they are investigating the welders involved in the situation, but they are not releasing any other details at this time.
