Navy’s shipyard revamp could cost more than $200 billion: GAO

The aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman passes the aircraft carrier USS George H. W. Bush as it departs Norfolk Naval Shipyard. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Steven Edgar)

WASHINGTON — The Navy’s initiative to revamp its four public shipyards could come with a price tag nearly ten times higher than initially estimated and take decades longer to complete, according to a new government watchdog report.

The Shipyard Infrastructure Optimization Program (SIOP) launched in 2018 and aims to upgrade the drydocks and standard equipment at the service’s current four shipyards in Virginia, Maine, Washington and Hawaii that oversee repairs for the Navy’s nuclear-powered aircraft carrier and submarine fleet.

Initially, the service predicted the effort would take roughly 20 years and cost approximately $21 billion, although Navy officials overseeing SIOP efforts told Breaking Defense last year that those estimates were outdated. A Government Accountability Office report released today, however, said that the project could take 50 years and cost $200 billion.

According to the report, the initial estimate “omitted key costs,” and that factors including commodity prices increases and seismic concerns at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard that require “needed retrofits and construction” are driving up costs and adding time to the SIOP initiative.

“Developing the plans and cost estimates to rebuild the Navy’s four public shipyards has taken the Navy years longer — and will cost much more — than originally anticipated due to multiple challenges and changes involved in the program,” the report said.

Additionally, the report said that more shipyard construction and repair projects have been added to the SIOP program since 2018, and that the Navy has implemented some design changes stemming from “lessons learned from projects already underway.”

“For example, the costs for the dry-dock projects in Portsmouth and Pearl Harbor in total grew by more than $2.5 billion since funding was originally requested from Congress,” the report said.

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The GAO also noted that the Navy isn’t mandated to submit a consolidated report to lawmakers on SIOP program costs and other “risks” associated with the effort, but rather, it shares updates on “various aspects” of the SIOP program instead. Ultimately, the GAO recommended that Congress require the Navy to share an annual and standardized report to lawmakers detailing the program’s cost and status.

“Without a full picture of how much has been spent, what remains to be funded, and what risks may affect SIOP progress, 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 GAO report said.

Navy officials previously told Breaking Defense in 2025 that they predict a 10 percent improvement in aircraft carrier maintenance and a 15 percent improvement for submarine maintenance once the SIOP program is complete. Typically, a submarine maintenance availability lasts 25 to 36 months, but improvements stemming from the SIOP program would reduce that by approximately three months, officials previously said.

Meanwhile, President Donald Trump is pushing for a fifth public shipyard to bolster aircraft carrier and submarine readiness.

“哈里·S·杜鲁门”号航空母舰驶离诺福克海军造船厂时，与“乔治·H·W·布什”号航空母舰擦肩而过。（美国海军二级大众传播专家史蒂文·埃德加摄）

华盛顿——据一份新的政府监督报告显示，海军改造其四个公共造船厂的计划，其成本可能比最初估计的要高出近十倍，而且完成时间可能会延长数十年。

造船厂基础设施优化计划 (SIOP) 于 2018 年启动，旨在升级海军目前位于弗吉尼亚州、缅因州、华盛顿州和夏威夷州的四个造船厂的干船坞和标准设备，这些造船厂负责海军核动力航空母舰和潜艇舰队的维修工作。

最初，海军预测这项工程大约需要20年时间，耗资约210亿美元，但负责战略信息作战计划（SIOP）的海军官员去年告诉《防务新闻》，这些估计已经过时。然而，美国政府问责局今天发布的一份报告称，该项目可能需要50年时间，耗资2000亿美元。

报告指出，最初的估算“遗漏了关键成本”，而且商品价格上涨以及普吉特海湾海军造船厂的地震问题等因素需要“必要的改造和建设”，这些因素正在推高成本并延长SIOP计划的时间。

报告称：“由于该计划涉及诸多挑战和变化，海军重建四个公共造船厂的计划和成本估算比最初预期的要花费数年时间，而且成本也会高得多。”

此外，该报告称，自 2018 年以来，SIOP 计划中增加了更多造船厂建设和维修项目，海军也实施了一些设计变更，这些变更源于“从正在进行的项目中吸取的教训”。

报告称：“例如，自最初向国会申请拨款以来，朴茨茅斯和珍珠港的干船坞项目总成本增加了超过 25 亿美元。”

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美国政府问责局（GAO）还指出，海军没有义务向立法者提交关于SIOP项目成本及其他相关“风险”的综合报告，而是仅就SIOP项目的“各个方面”提供最新进展。最终，GAO建议国会要求海军向立法者提交一份年度标准化报告，详细说明该项目的成本和进展情况。

“如果无法全面了解已经花费了多少资金、还有哪些资金需要资助，以及哪些风险可能会影响SIOP的进展，国会可能会根据不完整的信息对SIOP做出重大决定，从而导致数十亿美元的纳税人资金被浪费，并在未来几十年内缺乏对该计划的监督，”美国政府问责局的报告指出。

海军官员此前在2025年接受《防务新闻》采访时表示，他们预计一旦“潜艇维修计划”（SIOP）完成，航母维修效率将提高10%，潜艇维修效率将提高15%。官员们此前表示，通常情况下，潜艇的维护保养周期为25至36个月，但SIOP计划带来的改进将使维护保养周期缩短约三个月。

与此同时，唐纳德·特朗普总统正在推动建设第五个公共造船厂，以增强航空母舰和潜艇的战备能力。