The USNS Dewayne T. Williams is scheduled to return to Massachusetts later this spring for a planned drydocking and maintenance availability at Boston Ship Repair, more than 40 years after the vessel was originally constructed at the former General Dynamics Quincy Shipbuilding Division in Quincy, Mass.
Crowley, which operates the vessel through its government ship management group under contract with Military Sealift Command, awarded the drydock repair subcontract to Boston Ship Repair as part of the vessel’s scheduled maintenance availability.
Built in 1985 at the historic Quincy Shipbuilding Division, formerly the Fore River Shipyard, the vessel was constructed near the end of the yard’s operation before it closed in 1986. The shipyard, established in 1883, produced hundreds of naval and commercial vessels during its history, including battleships, aircraft carriers, and auxiliary vessels supporting U.S. military operations through World War II and the Cold War era.
The availability aboard the Dewayne T. Williams will include a broad maintenance and repair scope intended to support the vessel’s operational readiness and extend its service life, according to the announcement. The work also highlights the continued role of U.S. shipyards in supporting the Military Sealift Command fleet.
The project also ties together Massachusetts’ shipbuilding and repair history through organized labor. Workers represented by the Industrial Union of Marine and Shipbuilding Workers of America originally built the vessel at the Quincy yard before the union later merged into the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers.
“This project is a powerful reminder of the generations of skilled union shipbuilders in Quincy who built our nation’s maritime strength,” said David Sullivan. “If we’re serious about national and economic security, we need to reinvigorate U.S. shipbuilding and repair to the level it once was—investing in our shipyards, our workforce, and the industrial base that keeps this country strong.”
Boston Ship Repair, located in Boston Harbor, regularly performs maintenance, repair, and overhaul work for both government and commercial vessels and has supported previous Military Sealift Command availabilities.
