The Navy has appointed Rear Adm. Kavon Hakimzadeh to a newly created position of commodore over the Norfolk Naval Shipyard.
Under a two-year pilot project, Hakimzadeh will oversee maintenance at the public shipyard in Portsmouth. Most recently, the Admiral commanded the USS Eisenhower Strike group during its most recent deployment to the Red Sea.
“The Commodore position at NNSY has been established to manage the tremendous span of responsibility across the yard as they execute intermediate and depot-level maintenance on submarines and carriers while also managing supporting functions off-base,” according to a Navy spokesman.
Public shipyards are traditionally overseen by a captain. Capt. James “Jip” Mosman is the commander at Norfolk. As part of the pilot project, two captains will also be appointed to oversee submarine maintenance and aircraft carrier maintenance at the shipyard.
The Navy has seen a growing maintenance backlog for a decade. A 2021 Congressional Budget Office report projected that the amount of maintenance needed for submarines would outstrip the capacity of the Navy’s public shipyards in the next 25 to 30 years. The problem grew worse during the pandemic.
The General Accountability Office estimates that less than half of the Navy’s fleet of amphibious ships are available. Former Chief of Naval Operations Lisa Franchetti set a goal of having 80 percent of the total fleet available by 2027.
While the Navy looks at maintenance issues at the public shipyard, Navy and industry officials have been hinting for weeks that the next aircraft carrier, John F. Kennedy, would not be ready on time. Huntington Ingalls Industries Newport News Shipbuilding was scheduled to deliver the second Ford Class carrier next month.
According to a Navy spokesman, the carrier “will not be ready by its contractual delivery date in July 2025.” The Navy and the shipbuilder are looking at production schedules to come up with a plan to deliver the ship and allow “eventual fleet operations.”
The John F. Kennedy was originally scheduled to be delivered to the Navy in 2022 before the date was pushed back to 2024. Huntington Ingalls has cited supply chain issues and the lack of experienced workers among the reasons for the delay.
There have been long-standing issues with the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS). The system is designed to replace the steam-powered catapults used on older Nimitz Class carriers. The new system can launch aircraft more quickly and can be used on smaller unmanned aircraft.
USS Gerald R. Ford experienced similar delays. The carrier just left Hampton Roads for its second deployment in 18 months.
