USA: Moving Aircraft Carrier from VA to FL Cheaper than Navy Says

Moving a Norfolk-based aircraft carrier to Mayport, Fla., could cost less than half of what the Navy estimated it would, according to a federal report.

The U.S. Government Accountability Office estimates the cost of moving a carrier to be between $258.7 million and $356 million. The Navy previously had estimated it would cost more than $537 million to upgrade the Florida base so it could be the home port for a nuclear-powered carrier.

Norfolk is the only home port for aircraft carriers on the East Coast. Defense officials say that’s a national security concern, citing threats of terrorism and natural disasters.

Mayport lost the conventionally powered John F. Kennedy in 2007, when it was decommissioned.

Virginia leaders are concerned about a possible move because the Hampton Roads region stands to lose 6,000 jobs, half of those sailors aboard a carrier, and $425 million in annual revenue if a carrier permanently sails to Mayport.

The state’s congressional delegation has called the proposal unnecessary and costly at a time when there are other pressing needs.

The GAO report released Thursday criticized how the Navy estimated its cost, saying it failed to conduct a comprehensive, well-documented and credible analysis.

The biggest difference between the GAO estimate and the Navy’s involves the cost of building new facilities at Mayport. The GAO puts the cost for ship maintenance support facilities at $45.6 million and for building a controlled industrial facility at $70.5 million. The Navy estimates those costs at $157.2 million and $139.1 million, respectively.

The Navy said the difference in costs is because it factored in the cost of protecting buildings from a potential storm surge that may come from a Category 4 hurricane. The GAO also said it included a hurricane factor in its estimate.

[mappress]

Source: Richmond Times-Dispatch, March 9, 2011;