Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility ( PSNS & IMF ) is a United States Navy shipyard covering 179 acres ( 0 . 7 km² ) on Puget Sound at Bremerton , Washington . Historically it was known as Navy Yard Puget Sound , Bremerton Navy Yard , and Puget Sound Naval Shipyard . It is bordered on the south by Sinclair Inlet , on the west by the Bremerton Annex of Naval Base Kitsap , and on the north and east by the city of Bremerton , Washington . It is the Pacific Northwest ' s largest naval shore facility and one of Washington state ' s largest industrial installations . PSNS & IMF provides the Navy with maintenance , modernization , and technical and logistics support . History . Puget Sound Naval Shipyard was established in 1891 as a Naval Station and was designated Navy Yard Puget Sound in 1901 . During World War I , the Navy Yard constructed ships , including 25 subchasers , seven submarine s , two minesweepers , seven seagoing tugs , and two ammunition ships , as well as 1 , 700 small boats . During World War II , the shipyard ' s primary effort was the repair of battle damage to ships of the U . S . fleet and those of its allies . Following World War II , Navy Yard Puget Sound was designated Puget Sound Naval Shipyard . It engaged in an extensive program of modernizing carriers , including converting conventional flight decks to angle decks . During the Korean War , the shipyard was engaged in the activation of ships . In the late 1950s , it entered an era of new construction with the building of a new class of guided missile frigate s . In 1965 , USS " Sculpin " ( SSN 590 ) became the first nuclear - powered submarine to be maintained at PSNS . The shipyard was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1992 . The historic district includes 22 contributing buildings and 42 contributing structures , as well as 49 non - contributing buildings , structures , and objects . Installations . Perhaps the most visible feature of the shipyard is its huge green hammerhead crane , built in 1933 . The PSNS hammerhead crane is tall and wide with a lifting capacity of 250 tons . The hammerhead crane has not been used for many years . Ship - Submarine Recycling Program . In 1990 the Navy authorized the Ship - Submarine Recycling Program ( SRP ) to recycle nuclear - powered ships at PSNS . Approximately 25 % of the shipyard ' s workload involves inactivation , reactor compartment disposal , and recycling of ships . It has pioneered an environmentally safe method of deactivating and recycling nuclear - powered ships . This process places the U . S . Navy in the role of being the world ' s only organization to design , build , operate , and recycle nuclear - powered ships . On May 15 , 2003 PSNS and IMF were consolidated into what is now known as PSNS & IMF . Mothball Fleet . The shipyard also contains a portion of the United States Navy reserve fleet , a large collection of inactive U . S . Navy vessels , including four aircraft carriers : the , the , the and the . The ships are mothballed , meaning that they are stored in case they are needed by the Navy in the future .