NORFOLK, Va. — Big news for a private Hampton Roads shipyard.
The Department of Defense announced this week that a big contract to repair the Navy amphibious transport dock USS Arlington has been awarded to General Dynamics NASSCO-Norfolk.
In all, it is a potential 20-month, $168.5 million contract to maintain, modernize and repair the Arlington.
The job could begin in March, and the DOD expects the contractor to finish services by September 2024.
Last October, the Arlington completed a seven-month deployment with the Kearsarge Amphibious Ready Group in the U.S. Naval Sixth Fleet area of operations.
The deployment marked the first time an ARG/Marine Expeditionary Unit maintained a six-month presence in the Baltic region in more than 20 years.
More than 4,000 Marines and Sailors supported a wide range of interoperability training and exercises in 15 countries within U.S. Sixth Fleet; covering the High North/North Atlantic, Central Mediterranean, and Baltic regions promoting stability, increasing interoperability, sustaining combat readiness, and crisis response capabilities while strengthening relationships with both NATO Allies and partners.