Why has the Navy spent at least $175M on an old ship that may never return to sea?
The USS Vicksburg’s long and costly ordeal highlights the Navy’s struggle to modernize its fleet as
Sept. 26, 2023, 6:04 PM EDT
By Laura Strickler and Courtney Kube
For more than six years, the USS Vicksburg has sat idle at a shipyard in Norfolk, Virginia, undergoing repairs that have cost U.S. taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars. Yet the 567-foot guided-missile cruiser might never return to sea. The USS Vicksburg is one of 11 vessels that the Navy is seeking to retire but members of Congress may not let it.
“I’m sure most taxpayers look at the situation and say, 'No, this is not acceptable,'" Diana Maurer, the director of defense capabilities and management for the Government Accountability Office, or GAO, said. “Why are we spending money on a ship that was supposed to be modernized, that is not modernized, that is currently not sailing and may never sail again?”
The Vicksburg's long and costly ordeal highlights the Navy's struggle to modernize its fleet as China seeks naval supremacy in the Pacific. A different ship, the USS Boise, a nuclear attack submarine, has been under repair for eight years.
“It is unacceptable,” Navy Adm. Lisa Franchetti said about the Boise this month at her Senate confirmation hearing to run Naval ship operations. Franchetti cited lack of manpower at shipyards as contributing to the delay.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/navy-spent-least-175m-old-ship-may-never-return-sea-rcna105840
