The Navy’s plan to modernize the nation’s four public nuclear shipyards will cost more than $200 billion and take 50 years to complete, according to a new report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office.
Developing the Shipyard Infrastructure Optimization Program, or SIOP, has taken longer and will cost more than was originally anticipated due to what the congressional watchdog agency said were “multiple challenges and changes involved in the program.”
“For example, environmental issues led to additional projects and more extensive work affecting project plans and costs at the shipyards,” according to the GAO report that was released Friday.
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SIOP began in 2018 to address unsatisfactory conditions at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard, Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility, and Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility.
“GAO has reported on the shipyards’ persistently poor condition and found that preliminary SIOP cost estimates were understated by billions of dollars,” according to the report.
The Navy set up a framework to guide SIOP plans but didn’t outline the steps necessary to reevaluate program objectives and resources over the next several decades. The GAO investigators compared SIOP to defense contractors required to provide annual status reports.
“Without a full picture of how much has been spent, what remains to be funded, and what risks may affect SIOP progress,” the report said, “Congress could make consequential decisions for SIOP based on incomplete information, thus risking billions in taxpayer dollars and a lack of program oversight for the decades to come.”
The Navy created SIOP oversight offices and program integration teams to coordinate issues with shipyards. But the GAO investigators said the service hasn’t fully documented their responsibilities.
“Doing so would formalize their new SIOP roles and help to ensure not only their ability to effectively implement SIOP’s essential projects but also the continuity of the critical shipyard operations to maintain and modernize the U.S. Navy fleet now and throughout SIOP’s extended timeline,” the GAO report said.
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