A shipyard-wide power outage disrupted operations at HII’s Newport News Shipbuilding division in Virginia Oct. 5, prompting the company to tell first- and second-shift employees not to report, with exceptions for essential personnel and workers at unaffected off-site facilities.
The outage began early Monday following a problem at a Dominion Energy substation in downtown Newport News, according to a company statement. The company said third-shift employees were expected to report as scheduled that night.
Dominion told WAVY the outage occurred after overnight misty rain activated salt buildup left by a recent nor’easter on substation equipment, causing an electrical fault. The utility said its system detected the fault, isolated the affected equipment and activated protective measures to prevent further damage.
In a Facebook update, Newport News Shipbuilding president Kari Wilkinson said second-shift employees working inside the shipyard gates should report only if their supervisors had identified them as essential personnel. Employees at off-site facilities unaffected by the outage, including Oyster Point Industrial Park, Oakland Industrial Park and NetCenter, were also expected to report.
The notice did not apply to employees at NNS Charleston Operations.
HII also told WAVY it was communicating time-charging instructions directly to employees and that eligible hourly shipbuilders would receive reporting pay.
The disruption created congestion on Warwick Boulevard as employees left the shipyard Monday morning, WAVY reported. Some workers had arrived before learning they should return home.
