Manufacturing

A Fusion of Skill and Steel

From when the first steel is cut in our Structural Fabrication Facility to when the ship translates into the water, building a U.S. Navy destroyer involves many complex stages as well as the expertise of thousands of shipbuilders throughout our many facilities.

Fabrication

BIW operates two major manufacturing work sites in the West Bath-Brunswick area. One is the Structural Fabrication Facility where large plates of steel are shaped and welded into the fundamental components of a Navy ship – elements that are then transported by truck to the main shipyard.

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BIW also operates a facility that includes a climate-controlled Consolidated Warehouse and the Outfit Fabrication Facility, a pipe and sheet metal facility which includes computer-aided manufacturing capability for steel, pipe and ventilation.

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From Vision to Reality

Assembly

BIW shipbuilding takes place at the main shipyard on the Kennebec River, located at the south end of the city of Bath in the state of Maine. The yard has been in continuous service since the late 19th century.

Facilities at the main plant include a 750-foot dry dock, three shipways, three wharves, an outfitting pier, four level-luffing cranes, and covered facilities for pre-outfit and assembly. The shipyard has two principal structural assembly buildings. The larger building measures 170,000 square feet of interior area and houses the Panel Line, where the steel assembly process starts and multiple work stations where units become increasingly large and complex. The smaller building encloses 40,000 square feet and seven workstations.

Once structural units are grit-blasted and painted in the blast and paint facilities, they are moved to the Pre-Outfit Building (90,000 square feet), which has 16 workstations and is used for installation of distributive systems and operating machinery.

Within the 77,000 square foot Ultra Hall, which opened in 2008, we can assemble entire keel-to-weather deck sections of ships.

This means units weighing up to 4,000 tons can be outfitted in climate-controlled conditions.

Three shipways are the centerpiece of the Land Level Transfer Facility (LLTF); all three shipways can accommodate ships of 780 feet in length and a maximum beam of 105 feet. The LLTF building positions are serviced by two, track-mounted, 300-ton level-luffing cranes and one, track-mounted, 100-ton level-luffing crane. Operating on an inter-connected rail system grid, all three cranes can be positioned to service any of the three shipways.

Each ship under construction is paired with operational service towers (OSTs) that permit entry at various intermediate levels on the hull up to deck height, and are equipped with tool cribs, offices, lunchrooms, a freight elevator and other features designed to greatly reduce the need for having to leave the area of the job site.

When ready for launching, ships are translated onto a floating dry dock with the capacity to lift 28,000 tons. Ships are moved using a purpose-built TTS electro-hydraulic transfer system. Outfit Piers #3 and #4, which are adjacent to the LLTF, are serviced by track-mounted live-boom cranes; one 90-ton and one 60-ton. In addition to the Land Level Transfer Facility, the shipyard has an outdoor fabrication zone for deckhouses, serviced by a 220-ton, track-mounted, level-luffing crane.

Bath-Built Ships

A Tradition of Naval Architecture Excellence

As the nation’s premier naval combatant design agent, BIW has a long tradition of naval architecture excellence.

Through collaboration with our customer, we provide a full array of services including concept design, detail design and manufacturing support. We support the new construction efforts for the DDG 51 Arleigh Burke-class destroyer as well as future programs.

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Work on a Mission that Matters

General Dynamics Bath Iron Works employs the greatest shipbuilders in the world in order to accomplish our vital mission of delivering ships to the U.S. Navy.

From general laborers, pipefitters to electricians and beyond, each shipbuilder plays a pivotal role in bringing our ships to life, and we provide in-depth training for all our manufacturing and trade positions.

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