Back in 1994, Canadian Forces Base Shearwater was downsized and most of its tenants moved to nearby Halifax, Nova Scotia on Canada’s east cost. The base, which had been active since 1918 and supported the RCAF for almost as long, became a heliport. Some of its land was set aside for sale.
All that changed when the Canadian government finally decided to purchase an H-92 Superhawk variant as its CH-148 maritime helicopter in November 2004. DND’s C$3.2 billion 20-year in-service support contract required them to provide functional space within 12 Wing infrastructure for Sikorsky to set up various integrated support services. Suddenly, the lost land had to be restored – and now, C$ 170 million (about $160 million) will be spent to ensure that CFB Shearwater has the promised capabilities when 12 Wing trades in its CH-124 Sea Kings for new CH-148 Cyclones.
W.F. Magann Corp. in Portsmouth, VA won a $23.8 million firm-fixed-price contract for dry dock modernization at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard. The work to be performed provides for an extension to Dry Dock #8 to “service the new CVN Class hull with the bulbous bow.”
That would be CVN 77 George H.W. Bush, a “transitional” carrier between the Nimitz Class that technically includes it, and the new CVN-21 Gerald R. Ford Class. Subsequent carriers will also feature the bulbous underwater bow, which improves hull efficiency and adds more buoyancy to the ship’s forward end. The George H.W. Bush was christened on October 7/06, and launched on October 9/06; it is scheduled to enter service in 2009.
Demolition of existing structures and utilities will be required to support the project, as well as providing utility trenches, mechanical and electrical work and other incidental related work. Work will be performed in Portsmouth, VA and is expected to be complete by July 2010. This contract was competitively procured via the Naval Facilities Engineering Command e-solicitation website with 2 proposals received by the Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Mid-Atlantic in Norfolk, VA (N40085-07-C-7038).
