A government watchdog report released Wednesday states the U.S. Navy needs to strengthen oversight of ship maintenance contractors to prevent fires, citing chronic staffing shortfalls and weak enforcement of safety standards that could undermine recent improvements following one of the Navy’s most costly shipboard fires.
The Navy has suffered 13 fires on ships undergoing maintenance since 2008, according to the new Government Accountability Office (GAO) report, "Navy Ship Maintenance: Fire Prevention Improvements Hinge on Stronger Contractor Oversight," which highlights the July 2020 blaze aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Bonhomme Richard as a catalyst for reforms.
In July 2020, while docked at Naval Base San Diego for a $250 million maintenance period, a fire erupted aboard the Bonhomme Richard and burned for more than four days, spreading to 11 of the ship’s 14 decks and causing temperatures to exceed 1,200 degrees. Investigators later concluded the fire was started by an act of arson. The ship was lost “due to an inability to extinguish the fire” because of degraded firefighting systems and poor preparedness during the extended maintenance period.
Navy investigation reports cited repeated failures in training, degraded material condition, ineffective communication systems, and clogged passageways that hampered the firefighting response. One report found that on the morning of the fire, 87% of the ship’s fire stations had equipment that was inactive or not maintained, and firefighters struggled with unfamiliar layouts and inoperable systems.
The damage was so extensive that the Navy estimated the repair would require as much as $3 billion and years of work, leading to the decision to decommission the vessel rather than restore it.
The GAO’s new report says that while the Navy implemented actions after the Bonhomme Richard fire that “have improved fire safety and culture” and contributed to no major fires since 2020, persistent personnel shortages in organizations responsible for fire safety oversight limit effective enforcement of safety standards and contractor performance.
GAO officials recommended that the Navy develop mechanisms to better coordinate oversight resources and reassess its use of financial and contractual tools to ensure contractor compliance with fire safety requirements. The Navy concurred with all the recommendations.
