NASSCO delivers cargo ship Cesar Chavez to Navy


Written by Gary Robbins
6:07 p.m., Oct. 24, 2012


The USNS Cesar Chavez was launched in May 2012. NASSCO


General Dynamics NASSCO delivered the cargo ship Cesar Chavez to the Navy Wednesday, ending a decade-long program in which the San Diego shipyard built 14 vessels for the Military Sealift Command.

The Navy accepted the 689-foot ship during a signing ceremony on board the Chavez, which will be used to transport supplies and ammunition. NASSCO designed and built all 14 of the Lewis and Clark-class ships on San Diego Bay.

"It's a little bittersweet to see this come to an end," said Jim Gill, a NASSCO spokesman. "The program had a transformative effect on the shipyard, making us more competitive. And we're applying the lessons we learned with the cargo ships to building the new Mobile Landing Platform (MLP) ships."

NASSCO delivered the Cesar Chavez two days after it was announced that it has received a tentative order from American Petroleum Tankers to contract two large product carriers. The deal hinges on whether APT can obtain a $340 million loan from the federal government to refinance its existing five tankers.

NASSCO needs the contracts. Its Navy ship repair business is doing well, and the company is building three MLP ships. But the completion of the cargo ship line left NASSCO scrambling for new commercial business. Without the new tanker contracts, the company could be force to trim its workforce, which now stands at about 3,000.

NASSCO delivers cargo ship Cesar Chavez to Navy | UTSanDiego.com