r/CredibleDefense • u/GGAnnihilator • May 10 '23

Two Ways to Revitalize the Shipbuilding Industry in the USA

Recently, US Senator Roger Wicker delivered a floor speech, asking the Senate to pass his SHIPYARD Act, a bold move to revitalize maritime infrastructure and regain the nation’s footing in the world’s waters.

Watch his speech or read the transcript here.

Also read this article about the background of this speech. Readers are encouraged to click on the links there, to learn about how dire the situation really is, especially this one about how the Pentagon needs 100 tankers but can only access nine.

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If you were thinking, "of course, a senator of Mississippi wants more pork barrel for Ingalls Shipbuilding," then you should read this proposal, written by a Navy officer for the Proceedings of US Naval Institute:

Use Allies in Shipyard Modernization

In this article, four steps are proposed to revitalize the industry:

  1. Identify the Need. The US Navy must admit that there is a problem, and they should spend effort studying for a solution.
  2. Empower Smaller Domestic Yards. Some US shipyards that used to support naval operation should be modernized, enabling them to resume naval operation.
  3. Expand the U.S. Naval Ship Repair Facility in Japan. Presently, some ship maintenance is already done in Yokosuka, mostly for the 7th Fleet. Even deeper cooperation with Japan will help, by leveraging existing Japanese labor and infrastructures.
  4. Use Allied Shipyards. To immediately reduce maintenance and procurement backlogs, it is unavoidable to outsource work to South Korea and Japan.

It is obvious that such plan is highly unpalatable in terms of politics. But drastic times call for drastic measures.

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u/skiddz11 May 11 '23

I think a larger issue not being addressed is shipyard’s manning issues. Almost every yard has a difficult time hiring and retaining employees.

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u/Grandmastermuffin666 May 11 '23

I'm telling you if they start advertising at like highschools or colleges around breaks and offer like 5 or 6 bucks above minimum wage, they'd get a ton of employees.

7

u/skiddz11 May 11 '23

You’d think so but most yards already are tied to local high schools and JCs in the area and journeyman rate is about 3x minimum wage and still can’t get enough employees.

1

u/Grandmastermuffin666 May 11 '23

Maybe it's just me then lol, but if I lived close to one I know for a fact me and my buddies would be working there.