Report: Navy ships face maintenance delays and rising costs

WASHINGTON — Naval vessels are seeing their operating hours decrease due to delayed maintenance and rising costs. It’s a troubling trend emerging as the United States struggles to keep up with China’s growing fleet.

The Government Accountability Office reports that in the decade ending 2021, the number of propulsion hours spent operating or training a vessel has decreased, while operating and supporting costs in the 10 ship classes have decreased by about $2.5 billion increase.

The Navy witnessed an increase in parts maintenance delays, breakdowns, and parts cannibalization (moving from one ship to keep another ship moving) during this period.

The analysis shows “persistent maintenance challenges exacerbated by delayed maintenance and deferred maintenance” noted in previous reports by the GAO, the congressional body that audits federal programs.

“Over time, this situation has exacerbated the ship’s condition and increased costs for ship repair and maintenance,” GAO said.

A Navy Surface Force spokesperson said the Navy appreciates GAO’s recommendations for improving maintenance delivery times. Mission-capable ships (this figure does not include aircraft carriers, sea transports, or submarines). Arlo Abrahamson.

“This commitment to our 75 mission-capable ships drives every program and action we take, and across our military, companies are coordinating to get to this North Star.” , Vice Admiral Roy Kitchener, commander of the Navy Surface Forces, said on the water earlier this month. Naval Association event.

The Wasp-class amphibious assault ships and Littoral Combat Ships experienced the most significant “casualty reports” that compromised the ship’s ability to operate effectively, the GAO report said. According to the report, the San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock and the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer experienced the biggest maintenance delays.

Not only is the navy struggling to keep up with China, which already has a larger fleet, but maintenance delays and other issues are troubling when facing other adversaries at sea, including Russia. was.

But Diana Maurer, GAO’s director of defense capabilities and administration, said the Navy’s leadership understood the problem and was focused on making improvements. It’s encouraging,” she said.

The report released Wednesday focused on surface ships and not submarines. The next report may be expanded to include both surface and subsea vessels.