TSV 3 was undergoing a Docking Phased Maintenance Availability at Lyons Shipyard Inc., in Norfolk, Virginia. During the availability the ship received a 10,000-hour top end overhaul of its port and starboard main propulsion diesel engines; underwater hull, main deck and above preservation; inspections of its tanks and voids and port and starboard shaft repairs.
“The shaft repairs were challenging projects due to fabrication,” said MARMC Project Manager Veal Pope. “The metal needed for fabrication was long-lead time material. Lyons was able to procure the material in a timely manner and make the repairs, which allowed us to undock the vessel five-days early.”
MARMC, its industry partner, Lyons and the ship’s force team success can be attributed to the common goal of getting the ship back to the fleet on schedule.
“Establishing and maintaining strong partnerships with our regional shipbuilding partners is vital to our success,” said MARMC Commanding Officer Capt. Tim Barney. “When our goals align with the Navy’s mission of sustaining an operational and capable fleet, the results will always reflect that. I’m proud of the entire team.”
Pope said their shared goals made it easy to establish trust within the team construct from the very beginning. Being able to communicate openly made the availability go smoothly and ultimately successfully.
“The team effort began with our ability to communicate to mitigate any issues that came about. Good communication was stressed from the beginning of the availability from the project team, ship’s force to the contractor,” Pope said. “It allowed us to assess any problem openly and help each other overcome them. I’m just grateful to work with such an awesome group of people. Everyday isn’t easy but every day is a chance to do better. That is how we operate at MARMC.”
USNS Hunter is one of five training support vessels operated by Carrier Strike Group Four (CSG 4). Through a realistic training environment that includes academic, synthetic and live training, TSVs are critical assets that support certification exercises for deploying carrier strike groups, Amphibious Ready Groups/Marine Expeditionary Units, and independent deployers. TSVs provide services that include information warfare, surface target and aerial drone presentations for live fire events, maritime interdiction operations for boarding team training, and a variety of other missions.
MARMC, a directorate under Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA), provides surface ship maintenance, management and oversight of private sector maintenance and fleet technical assistance to ships in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States and provides support to the fifth and sixth Fleet Area of Responsibilities. They are also responsible for the floating dry-dock Dynamic (AFDL-6).