The U.S. Navy’s seventh aircraft carrier, USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74), reached the halfway point of its planned incremental availability (PIA) on May 24, the navy has announced.
John C. Stennis officially started its PIA, Feb. 16, at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard (PSNS) and Intermediate Maintenance Facility to undergo scheduled maintenance and upgrades.
“This is the largest six-month availability ever for a Nimitz-class aircraft carrier. The fact that we are on schedule and tracking to complete on time is a testament to the PSNS, Stennis, and contractor team,” said Capt. Greg Huffman, John C. Stennis’ commanding officer.
PIA is a regularly scheduled part of a ship’s life cycle to overhaul systems, install upgrades and complete work difficult or impossible to do at sea or without shipyard experience.
Sailors and PSNS personnel are working together on the various upgrades and repairs needed for the ship, including work on the engineering systems, aircraft catapult, crew berthing, tanks and voids, piping systems, insulation, decks and more. The total work planned for John C. Stennis by sailors and shipyard personnel will amount to more than 2,100,000 man-hours of work.