Norfolk Naval Shipyard The Norfolk Naval Shipyard , often called the Norfolk Navy Yard and abbreviated as NNSY , is a U . S . Navy facility in Portsmouth , Virginia , for building , remodeling , and repairing the Navy ' s ships . It ' s the oldest and largest industrial facility that belongs to the U . S . Navy as well as the most multifaceted . Located on the Elizabeth River , the yard is just a short distance upriver from its mouth at Hampton Roads . The name was changed from Gosport Shipyard in 1862 . History . British control . The Gosport Shipyard was founded on November 1 , 1767 by Andrew Sprowle on the western shore of the Elizabeth River in Norfolk County in the Virginia Colony . This shipyard became a prosperous naval and merchant facility for the British Crown . In 1775 , at the beginning of the American Revolution , Sprowle stayed loyal to the Crown and fled Virginia , which confiscated all of his properties , including the shipyard . In 1779 , while the newly formed Commonwealth of Virginia was operating the shipyard , it was burned by British troops . American control . In 1794 , United States Congress passed " An Act to Provide a Naval Armament , " allowing the Federal Government to lease the Gosport Shipyard from Virginia . In 1799 the keel of USS " Chesapeake " , one of the first six frigates authorized by Congress , was laid , making her the first ship built in Gosport for the U . S . Navy . The federal government purchased the shipyard from Virginia in 1801 for $ 12 , 000 . This tract of land measured 16 acres ( 65 , 000 m² ) and now makes up the northeastern corner of the current shipyard . In 1827 , construction began on the first of what would be the first two dry docks in the United States . The first one was completed three weeks ahead of similar projects in both Boston , Massachusetts and South America , making it the first functional dry dock in the Americas . Dry Dock One , as it is referred to today , is still operational and is listed as historical landmark in Portsmouth , VA . Additional land on the eastern side of the Elizabeth River was purchased in 1845 . American Civil War . In 1861 , Virginia joined the Confederate States of America . Fearing that the Confederacy would take control of the facility , the shipyard commander Charles Stewart McCauley ordered the burning of the shipyard . The Confederate forces did in fact take over the shipyard , and did so without armed conflict through an elaborate ruse orchestrated by civilian railroad builder William Mahone ( then President of the Norfolk and Petersburg Railroad and soon to become a famous Confederate officer ) . The capture of the shipyard allowed a tremendous amount of war material to fall into Confederate hands . 1 , 195 heavy guns were taken for the defense of the Confederacy , and employed in many areas from Hampton Roads all the way to Fort Donelson Tennessee , Port Hudson , and Fort de Russy , Louisiana . The Union forces withdrew to Fort Monroe across Hampton Roads , which was the only land in the area which remained under Union control . In early 1862 , the Confederate ironclad warship CSS " Virginia " was rebuilt using the burned - out hulk of USS " Merrimack " . In the haste to abandon the shipyard , the " Merrimack " had only been destroyed above the waterline , and an innovative armored superstructure was built upon the remaining portion . The " Virginia " , which was still called the " Merrimack " by Union forces and in many historical accounts , engaged the Union ironclad USS " Monitor " in the famous Battle of Hampton Roads during the Union blockade of Hampton Roads . The Confederates burned the shipyard again when they left in May 1862 . Following its recapture of Norfolk and Portsmouth ( and the shipyard ) by the Union forces , the name of the shipyard was changed to Norfolk after the county in which it was located , outside the city limits of Portsmouth at the time . This choice of name was probably to minimize any confusion with the pre - existing Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery , Maine near Portsmouth , New Hampshire . Modern shipyard . From the Reconstruction Era until 1917 , the shipyard was used both for ship repair and construction and for ship stationing ; the current major naval base for the region , Naval Station Norfolk , did not yet exist . As such , the then Norfolk Navy Yard served as the official Homeport for ships stationed in the Hampton Roads region . No major expansion occurred at the facility until World War I when it was expanded to accommodate 11 , 000 employees and their families . The shipyard was again expanded in World War II , doubling its physical size , and greatly expanding its productive capacity . During its peak , from 1940 to 1945 , 43 , 000 personnel were employed and 6 , 850 vessels were built . After World War II , the shipyard shifted from being a ship construction facility to an overhaul and repair facility . Its last two ships , USS " Bold " and her sister ship , " Bulwark " , wooden minesweepers , were christened on March 28 , 1953 during the Korean War . Currently , the shipyard is composed of several noncontiguous areas totaling 1 , 275 acres ( 5 . 2 km² ) . Norfolk Naval Shipyard provides repair and modernization services for every type of ship that the U . S . Navy has in service , which includes amphibious vessels , submarines , guided missile cruiser s , and supercarrier s , although in recent years the shipyard has primarily focused on nuclear ships and nuclear support ships . The Norfolk yard is one of the few facilities on the east coast capable of dry docking nuclear aircraft carriers . Another facility capable of drydocking such carriers is Huntington Ingalls Industries ( HII ) , located on the other side of Hampton Roads in Newport News , which is the only U . S . shipyard that currently builds and refuels nuclear aircraft carriers . Captain William Kiestler , commanding officer of Norfolk Naval Shipyard was relieved of duty on July 1 , 2010 by order of Vice Admiral Kevin M . McCoy , commander of Naval Sea Systems Command , after a year on the job because of a loss of confidence in his ability to command . Captain Greg Thomas was permanently relieved of command on October 26 , 2011 . Rear Admiral Joseph Campbell held the post as acting shipyard commander until February 16 , 2012 when the command was assumed by Captain Mark Bridenstine .