Navy Maintenance: Persistent and Substantial Ship and Submarine Maintenance Delays Hinder Efforts to Rebuild Readiness
Released: 2019-12-04T00:00:00

Letter

Background

Maintenance for the nuclear elements of the fleet (i.e., aircraft carriers and submarines) is generally performed at the four public Naval shipyards, while maintenance for the conventional elements of the fleet (e.g., cruisers, destroyers, amphibious assault ships, and Military Sealift Command ships) is generally performed at private shipyards and ship repair companies throughout the United States, as shown in figure 1.

A number of organizations and commands within the Navy share responsibilities for setting maintenance policies and planning, scheduling, and executing ship maintenance, from the offices of the Secretary of the Navy and Chief of Naval Operations, to fleet commanders and ships’ crews. Naval Sea Systems Command is the primary Navy ship maintenance organization. It is charged with, among other things, maintaining ships to meet fleet requirements within defined cost and schedule parameters; managing critical modernization, maintenance, and inactivation programs; life-cycle management of maintenance requirements; and management and oversight of the public naval shipyards. Its offices also perform contract administration, program management, and planning for future maintenance periods informed by the historical maintenance needs of Navy ships.

Persistent and Substantial Maintenance Delays for Ships and Submarines Reduce Time for Training and Operations and Result in Additional Costs

Our work has found that the Navy has been generally unable to complete ship and submarine maintenance on time, resulting in reduced time for training and operations and additional costs in a resource-constrained environment. The Navy’s readiness recovery is premised on the adherence to set deployment, training, and maintenance schedules. However, we reported in May 2016 on the difficulty that both the public and private shipyards were having in completing maintenance on time. We reported that, from 2011 through 2014, about 72 percent of scheduled maintenance for surface combatants, and 89 percent of scheduled maintenance for aircraft carriers, was completed late. We updated these data as of November 2019 to include ongoing and completed maintenance periods through the end of fiscal year 2019, and found that the Navy continues to struggle to complete maintenance on time, as we discuss below. The Navy was unable to complete scheduled ship maintenance on time about 75 percent of the time during fiscal years 2014 through 2019, which equates to about 33,700 days of maintenance delays (see figure 2).

Furthermore, these delays have been growing longer and more frequent. In fiscal year 2014, about 20 percent of the Navy’s maintenance periods were more than 90 days late. However, in fiscal year 2019, more than 57 percent of its maintenance periods were similarly late (see figure 3).

When maintenance is not completed on time, there are two primary effects. First, fewer ships are available to conduct training or operations, which can hinder readiness. For example, in fiscal year 2019, maintenance delays resulted in the Navy losing the equivalent of 19 surface ships. Second, maintenance delays are costly. In November 2018, we examined attack submarine maintenance delays and reported that the Navy incurred significant operating and support costs to crew and maintain attack submarines that are delayed during maintenance periods. We estimated that from 2008 to 2018, the Navy spent $1.5 billion to support attack submarines that provided no operational capability—attack submarines sitting idle no longer certified to conduct normal operations—while waiting to enter the shipyards and those delayed in completing their maintenance at the shipyards. We recommended that the Navy analyze how it allocates its maintenance workload across public and private shipyards. DOD concurred with our recommendation, and in December 2018, the Navy analyzed its workload allocation and moved two additional attack submarine maintenance availabilities to the private shipyards, with the possibility of moving additional availabilities to the private sector over the next 5 years.

Navy Maintenance Challenges Stem from Multiple Interrelated Factors

The Navy’s ability to successfully maintain its ships—completing all required maintenance on-time and within estimated cost—is affected by numerous factors that occur throughout a ship’s lifecycle (see figure 4). Some of these factors involve decisions made during the acquisition phase, years before a ship arrives at a shipyard for maintenance, while others manifest during operational use of the ship or during the maintenance process, as illustrated in figure 4.

These decisions can be interrelated; for example, decisions to increase deployment lengths to meet the Navy’s operational demands can result in declining ship conditions and material readiness. The declining condition of the ships can increase the time that ships spend undergoing maintenance at the shipyards. Increased maintenance time at shipyards can lead to decisions to make further operational schedule changes to extend deployment lengths for other ships to compensate for ships experiencing maintenance delays.

Acquisition Decisions Affect Maintenance Timeliness

While our statement today focuses on factors occurring during operations and the maintenance process, we have previously reported that long-term sustainment costs can be affected by decisions made early in the acquisition process. The decisions made during the acquisition phase of a weapon system can affect maintenance strategies used throughout the lifecycle, as 80 percent of a program’s operating and support costs are fixed at the time a program’s requirements are set and the ship is designed. For example, the littoral combat ship (LCS) program initially planned to operate the ship with 40 sailors using contractors to complete all of the onboard maintenance tasks. After challenges with the first LCS deployments, the Navy began revising the ships maintenance strategy, including adding more sailors onboard the ship. In addition, decisions to acquire or not acquire rights to technical data can have far-reaching implications for DOD’s ability to sustain the systems and competitively procure parts and services. Furthermore, the Navy has shown a willingness to provide ships to the fleet that still have a number of unresolved construction and quality deficiencies, which add to its maintenance burden. For example, the Navy delivered the USS Somerset amphibious transport dock to the fleet with 52 significant defects, including an electronic system crucial to the ship’s mission effectiveness that the fleet had to replace shortly after it received the ship. We have ongoing work on the effect that acquisition decisions can have on maintenance that we expect to issue in early 2020.

Operational Decisions Affect Maintenance Timeliness

Some causes of delays are created or exacerbated during an operational deployment. Our work has shown that to meet heavy operational demands over the past decade with a smaller fleet, the Navy has increased ship deployment lengths and has reduced or deferred ship maintenance. Decisions to reduce crew sizes between 2003 and 2012 also left crews overburdened and contributed to deferred maintenance. These decisions have resulted in declining ship conditions across the fleet and have increased the amount of time that ships require to complete maintenance in the shipyards. Increased maintenance periods, in turn, have compressed the time during which ships are available for training and operations. Specifically, the Navy:

Decreased crew levels. We reported in 2017 that the Navy’s effort to reduce crew sizes between 2003 through 2012 corresponded with increases in maintenance costs that outweighed the savings achieved through reduced personnel costs. Navy officials told us that shifts in maintenance workload from the organizational- and intermediate- levels to depot-level maintenance increased overall maintenance costs. This change occurred in part because reduced crew sizes resulted in minor maintenance being deferred, which developed into more costly issues that had to be addressed later at the depot level.

Extended deployments. We have previously reported that Navy decisions to extend deployments can lead to maintenance challenges, as these decisions have resulted in declining ship conditions across the fleet, and have increased the amount of time that ships require to complete maintenance in the shipyards.

Deferred maintenance. We reported in 2015, 2016, and 2017 that maintenance deferred while a ship is deployed can develop into more costly issues that must be addressed later, often during depot-level maintenance. Deferred maintenance can lead to new work at the shipyards, as the degraded ship conditions result in the need for additional maintenance. For example, maintenance officials told us that the focus for ships homeported overseas is on mission readiness, so overseas-homeported ships place priority on the maintenance of combat systems. This means that systems with the potential to reduce ship service life—such as fuel and ballast tanks that require extended in-port periods to properly maintain—can be subject to maintenance deferrals in order to allow the ship to sustain a high operational tempo.

Challenges during the Maintenance Process Affect Timeliness

In our prior work, we identified numerous challenges that occur during the Navy’s planning and execution of a ship’s maintenance period that contribute to delays. For example:

Difficulties in adhering to the maintenance planning process. We reported in 2016 that the Navy must accurately define the work for each ship’s maintenance period. To do this, the Navy’s maintenance planning process specifies planning milestones intended to ascertain the ship’s condition, identify the work needed, and plan for its execution. Missing or meeting planning milestones late can contribute to maintenance delays. However, the Navy does not always adhere to its own maintenance planning process due to high operational tempo, scheduling difficulties, or personnel shortages, among other factors, resulting in shipyards discovering the need for additional repairs after maintenance has begun and adding time to the schedule for planning, contracting, or waiting for parts.

Navy shipyards have shortages of skilled personnel. The Navy has reported a variety of workforce challenges at the four public shipyards such as hiring personnel in a timely manner and providing personnel with the training necessary to gain proficiency in critical skills. The Navy has noted that some occupations require years of training before workers become proficient. According to Navy officials, a large portion of its workforce is inexperienced. For example, we reported in December 2018 that 45 percent of the Puget Sound and 30 percent of the Portsmouth Naval Shipyards’ skilled workforce had fewer than 5 years of experience. According to DOD officials, workforce shortages and inexperience contribute to maintenance delays. For example, at Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard in 2014 and 2015, two submarines were delayed approximately 20 months each, in part because of shortages in ship fitters and welders, among other skilled personnel. Most of DOD’s depots, which include the naval shipyards, have taken actions to maintain critical skills through retention incentives, bonuses, and awards. However, we found that neither the depots, their higher-level service component commands, nor the services have conducted an assessment to determine the effectiveness of these actions.

The condition of facilities and equipment at Navy shipyards is generally poor. We reported in September 2017 that poor condition of facilities and equipment at the shipyards contributed to maintenance delays for aircraft carriers and submarines, hindering the shipyards’ ability to support the Navy. Specifically, we found that the average condition of shipyard facilities was poor and that shipyard equipment was generally past its expected service life. For example, four of the five dry docks at Norfolk Naval Shipyard face flooding threats from extreme high tides and storm swells and average one major flooding event per year. In 2009 a dry dock at Norfolk Naval Shipyard required emergency repairs to prevent flooding while the USS Tennessee (SSBN-734) was undergoing maintenance. According to the Navy’s report on the incident, several days of high tides and winds, coupled with multiple leaks in the dry dock’s granite block joints, resulted in the dry dock flooding at an estimated rate of 3,000 gallons per minute before workers could repair it. In addition, at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard—located in an area identified by the U. S. Geological Survey as a “High Seismic Hazard Zone”—a 7.0 magnitude or greater earthquake could damage or ruin the only dry dock on the west coast that is capable of performing maintenance on aircraft carriers. We have also previously reported that the Navy shipyards do not track when facility problems leads to maintenance delays.

Furthermore, the average age of equipment at the shipyards is beyond its average expected service life (see table 1). Equipment that is past its expected service life can pose an increased risk for maintenance delays or higher maintenance costs, affecting the depots’ ability to conduct work. As we have previously reported, aging equipment can present a number of challenges, such as more frequent breakdowns, less effective or efficient operation, and safety hazards.

The Navy shipyards lack the capacity to conduct required maintenance in the future. We also reported in 2019 that the naval shipyards cannot support 68 of the 218—almost a third—of the maintenance periods that aircraft carriers and submarines will require through 2040, due to a lack of dry dock capacity. Specifically, several of the Navy’s 17 dry docks will become obsolete after the Los Angeles-class submarines are retired because they will be too small or lack the appropriate shore-side support for newer classes of submarines. For example, only 14 dry docks can support the early- flight Virginia-class submarines and only 11 dry docks can support the Virginia-class submarines outfitted with the longer Virginia Payload Module. In addition, no dry docks can currently support repairs to the Ford class aircraft carrier, even though the Navy accepted delivery of the first ship of that class in 2017. Private shipyards have told the Navy that they could have some additional capacity to conduct maintenance, but are hesitant to invest in creating this capacity without more certainty from the Navy.

The Navy Has Taken Some Steps to Address Maintenance Delays, but Corrective Actions Will Take Years to Implement The Navy Developed a Shipyard Infrastructure Optimization Plan, but It Will Require Significant Time and Resources to Implement

The Navy has begun to implement a major effort—the Shipyard Infrastructure Optimization Plan—that is intended to significantly improve the condition of shipyard facilities and equipment, but it will require significant time and resources to implement. This plan is designed to address the bulk of the Navy’s dry-dock capacity issues as well as identify the optimal placement of facilities and major equipment at each public shipyard. The Navy estimates these changes can ultimately increase its maintenance efficiency by reducing the distance that workers and material will have to travel around the shipyards during the maintenance period. According to the Navy, this equates to recovering about 328,000 labor days per year—an amount roughly equal to that of an additional submarine maintenance period annually. In addition, the Navy has created a program office to oversee its shipyard improvement effort, which we believe demonstrates leadership attention and commitment to the effort. However, the Navy estimated that the replacement of the facilities will take 20 years (see figure 5). Further, the Navy estimates that it will take 30 years to bring the average age of its equipment to within industry standards.

The Navy estimated in 2018 that this effort will require $21 billion over 20 years to implement. However, this $21 billion estimate does not include inflation and other significant costs, such as those for utilities, roads, or environmental remediation. Our analysis of the Navy’s preliminary estimate is that it is understated due to a lack of inflation adjustments, which could add billions to the final cost. Navy officials stated that the $21 billion estimate is an initial indicator of the scope of the effort and is not intended as a cost estimate in its budget. However, even that $21 billion estimate would require funding levels beyond what the Navy has requested for shipyard infrastructure in recent years. We recommended in November 2019 that the Navy should prepare more accurate cost estimates using best practices so that the Navy can request accurate funding from Congress and avoid common pitfalls associated with inaccurate estimates such as cost overruns, missed deadlines, and performance shortfalls. We recommended that the Navy take steps to improve its cost estimate prior to the start of its primary facility improvement effort; the Navy has concurred with this recommendation.

Other Navy Efforts Are in Early Stages and Will Need Additional Time to Produce Results

The Navy has additional efforts underway that should help reduce maintenance delays, though the results of these efforts likely will not be seen for several years. For example:

Revising the size of ship crews. The Navy has taken steps to address some of our recommendations regarding the size of ship crews. Specifically, the Navy has begun reviewing and revising its ship crew levels—most notably adding 32 crewmembers to its DDG- 51 destroyers and 23 crewmembers to its LPD-17 fleet. However, officials noted that the process to update crew levels throughout the fleet would take about 4 years to complete. The Navy will also need to demonstrate that it actually can assign crew members to these ships to meet the higher crew levels. We have ongoing work examining this issue and plan to report on our findings in winter of 2020.

Hiring additional workers at shipyards. Shipyards have increased hiring, going from about 30,600 workers in fiscal year 2014 to about 37,400 workers in fiscal year 2019. However, Navy officials have stated that it takes several years for workers to reach full productivity. In the past, officials expected that new hires would take about 5 years to become fully productive, although the Navy has testified that they hope to reduce that time through new training techniques.

Performance to Plan. The Navy has begun an analytical effort to better understand maintenance challenges and its capacity needs for the future, called “Performance to Plan.” According to Navy officials and plans, this effort is intended to help the Navy improve full and timely completion of maintenance, including for aviation, surface ships, and submarines. For example, the effort for surface ship maintenance currently involves a pilot program looking at how to better plan and execute maintenance periods for DDG 51-class destroyers, including examining how to improve the accuracy of forecasted maintenance requirements and duration and better adhere to planning milestones, among other outcomes. We are encouraged by this effort, but note that it remains in the early stages, and it is not clear whether or when the pilot effort will be extended to examine the entire surface fleet.

In sum, the Navy faces significant challenges in maintaining its current fleet and reaping full benefit of the ships it has in its inventory today due to persistent and substantial maintenance delays. The Navy has made progress identifying the causes of their maintenance challenges and has begun efforts to address them. However, delays continue to persist and these challenges will require years of continued management attention and substantial investment to be resolved.

As part of this sustained management attention, the Navy would benefit from a continued focus on implementing our prior recommendations. Since 2015, we have made 17 recommendations to the Navy to address various concerns we identified with its maintenance process. The Navy agreed with 14 of those recommendations, partially concurred with 1 recommendation, and disagreed with 2 recommendations. However, as of November 2019, the Navy had fully implemented 6 of these recommendations. While the Navy has taken some additional action on the 11 remaining unimplemented recommendations, taking additional steps to fully address these recommendations could help the Navy address its maintenance challenges and better position it to sustain the current and future fleet.

Looking to the future, the Navy is seeking to grow the fleet over the next 15 years. However, if it increases the size of the fleet before addressing its maintenance challenges, it is likely that the Navy will be faced with a growing number of both maintenance delays and ships that are unavailable for use. Even assuming the Navy’s efforts to improve shipyard operations succeed, it will be years before the Navy can maintain a significantly larger fleet.

Chairmen Perdue and Sullivan, Ranking Members Hirono and Kaine, and Members of the Subcommittees, this concludes my prepared statement. I would be pleased to respond to any questions you may have at this time.

GAO Contact and Staff Acknowledgments

If you or your staff have questions about this testimony, please contact Diana Maurer, Director, Defense Capabilities and Management at (202) 512-9627 or maurerd@gao.gov.

Contacts points for our Offices of Congressional Relations and Public Affairs may be found on the last page of this statement. GAO staff who made key contributions to this testimony are Suzanne Wren (Assistant Director), James Lackey (Analyst-in-Charge), A. S. Bagley, Chris Cronin, Amie Lesser, Felicia Lopez, Tobin McMurdie, Carol Petersen, Clarice Ransom, Matt Thompson, and Sally Williamson.

Appendix I: Implementation Status of Prior GAO Recommendations Related to Ship and Submarine Maintenance

In recent years, we have issued a number of reports related to ship and submarine maintenance. Table 1 summarizes the recommendations in these reports. The Department of Defense (DOD) concurred with most of the 17 recommendations; however, to date DOD has fully implemented 6 of the recommendations. For each of the reports, the specific recommendations and any progress made in implementing them are summarized in tables 2 through 9.

Related GAO Products

Report numbers with a C or RC suffix are classified. Report numbers with a SU suffix are sensitive but unclassified. Classified and sensitive but unclassified reports are available to personnel with the proper clearances and need to know, upon request. Report numbers with a T suffix are testimonies.

Naval Shipyards: Key Actions Remain to Improve Infrastructure to Better Support Navy Operations. GAO-20-64. Washington, D.C.: November 25, 2019.

Military Depots: Actions Needed to Improve Poor Conditions of Facilities and Equipment that Affect Maintenance Timeliness and Efficiency. GAO-19-242. Washington, D.C.: April 29, 2019.

DOD Depot Workforce: Services Need to Assess the Effectiveness of Their Initiatives to Maintain Critical Skills. GAO-19-51. Washington, D.C.: December 14, 2018.

Navy and Marine Corps: Rebuilding Ship, Submarine, and Aviation Readiness Wil Require Time and Sustained Management Attention. GAO-19-225T. Washington, D.C.: December 12, 2018.

Navy Readiness: Actions Needed to Address Costly Maintenance Delays Facing the Attack Submarine Fleet. GAO-19-229. Washington, D.C.: November 19, 2018.

Navy Readiness: Actions Needed to Address Costly Maintenance Delays Affecting the Attack Submarine Fleet. GAO-19-192C. Washington, D.C.: October 31, 2018 Military Readiness: Update on DOD’s Progress in Developing a Readiness Rebuilding Plan. GAO-18-441RC. Washington, D.C.: August 10, 2018. (SECRET)

Navy Shipbuilding: Past Performance Provides Valuable Lessons for Future Investments. GAO-18-238SP. Washington, D.C.: June 6, 2018.

Weapon Systems Annual Assessment: Knowledge Gaps Pose Risks to Sustaining Recent Positive Trends. GAO-18-360SP. Washington, D.C.: April 25, 2018.

Columbia Class Submarine: Immature Technologies Present Risks to Achieving Cost Schedule and Performance Goals. GAO-18-158. Washington, D.C.: December 21, 2017.

Navy Readiness: Actions Needed to Address Persistent Maintenance, Training, and Other Challenges Affecting the Fleet. GAO-17-809T. Washington, D.C.: September 19, 2017.

Naval Shipyards: Actions Needed to Improve Poor Conditions that Affect Operations. GAO-17-548. Washington, D.C.: September 12, 2017.

Navy Readiness: Actions Needed to Address Persistent Maintenance, Training, and Other Challenges Facing the Fleet. GAO-17-798T. Washington, D.C.: September 7, 2017.

Navy Shipbuilding: Policy Changes Needed to Improve the Post-Delivery Process and Ship Quality. GAO-17-418. Washington, D.C.: July 13, 2017.

Department of Defense: Actions Needed to Address Five Key Mission Challenges. GAO-17-369. Washington, D.C.: June 13, 2017.

Navy Force Structure: Actions Needed to Ensure Proper Size and Composition of Ship Crews. GAO-17-413. Washington, D.C.: May 18, 2017.

Military Readiness: DOD’s Readiness Rebuilding Efforts May Be at Risk without a Comprehensive Plan. GAO-16-841. Washington, D.C.: September 7, 2016.

Navy and Marine Corps: Services Face Challenges to Rebuilding Readiness. GAO-16-481RC. Washington, D.C.: May 25, 2016. (SECRET//NOFORN)

Military Readiness: Progress and Challenges in Implementing the Navy’s Optimized Fleet Response Plan. GAO-16-466R. Washington, D.C.: May 2, 2016.

Navy Force Structure: Sustainable Plan and Comprehensive Assessment Needed to Mitigate Long-Term Risks to Ships Assigned to Overseas Homeports. GAO-15-329. Washington, D.C.: May 29, 2015.

This is a work of the U.S. government and is not subject to copyright protection in the United States. The published product may be reproduced and distributed in its entirety without further permission from GAO. However, because this work may contain copyrighted images or other material, permission from the copyright holder may be necessary if you wish to reproduce this material separately.