NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — Newport News Shipbuilding (NNS) President Jennifer Boykin said faulty welding was discovered on some submarines and aircraft carriers under construction.
Most troubling of all, that faulty welding may have been intentional, Boykin wrote in a message posted to LinkedIn on Friday.
"Some of the welds in question were made by welders who knowingly violated weld procedures," Boykin wrote.
NNS contacted the Department of Justice and regulators about the issue, and engineers were able to put in place immediate short-term solutions while figuring out the next moves for long-term solutions.
Boykin thanked the shipbuilders who reported the issue, either by self-reporting or calling the HII OpenLine.
"I cannot over stress that individual actions and behaviors either strengthen – or weaken – our ethical culture in an instant," Boykin wrote. "Every choice you make as a shipbuilder has long lasting impact. ... We have to remember our nation depends on us to deliver the highest quality ships, as do the moms, dads, spouses and children of our Navy sailors who live aboard them."
The scope of the problem was not disclosed by Boykin.
Todd Corillo, a spokesperson for HII's Newport News Shipbuilding division provided this statement to 13News Now:
"“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.”
