One of the main shipbuilders for the United States Navy informed the Department of Justice that it has reason to believe faulty welds on Naval ships were done intentionally. According to the United States Naval Institute News, Newport News Shipbuilding, which is the only company that makes carriers for the Navy and is one of two companies that make submarines, found faulty welds on ships manufactured at its Virginia facility.
A memo from Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development, and Acquisition Nickolas Guertin to Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro and Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Lisa Franchetti said that the Newport News Shipbuilding, which is a division of Huntington Ingalls Industries, discovered the issue on in-service carriers and submarines and ones currently being built.
The welds, which were on non-critical components, were not made following proper procedures. The company said there was evidence this was done intentionally.
The Navy said it is looking into the issue.
“The Navy is aware of the issue, and a thorough evaluation is underway to determine the scope. The safety of our Sailors and our ships is of paramount importance. We are working closely with industry partners to address this situation and will provide additional information when available,” reads the statement.
Newport News Shipbuilding said it is investigating the issue and will cooperate with the Navy and Justice Department as it seeks to remedy the faulty welds.
“We recently discovered through internal reporting that the quality of some welds did not meet our high-quality standards. Upon this discovery, we took immediate action to communicate with our customers and regulators, investigate, determine root cause, bound these matters, and insert immediate corrective actions to prevent any recurrence of these issues,” the statement reads.
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