Norfolk Naval Shipyard Returns USS Tennessee to the Fleet
Navy News Service
Story Number: NNS110804-17
8/4/2011
From Norfolk Naval Shipyard Public Affairs
PORTSMOUTH, Va. (NNS) -- Norfolk Naval Shipyard (NNSY) successfully completed USS Tennessee's (SSBN 734) engineered refueling overhaul (ERO) Aug. 2.
EROs are complex, major shipyard availabilities which extend a submarine's service life. During Tennessee's ERO, NNSY personnel refueled the vessel's nuclear reactor. Additionally, they overhauled numerous hull valves and components, and upgraded the engineering plant control systems, returning the submarine to full mission capability.
"This was the first major availability performed on a Trident (fleet ballistic missile submarine) that had an upgraded missile fire control system. This made the testing program and follow-on operational checks very challenging," said Project Superintendent Dennis Bevington.
The ERO began in January 2009. Tennessee is scheduled to return to its homeport of Kings Bay, Ga., later this month, and resume its mission of strategic deterrence as a fleet ballistic missile submarine. The Navy's fleet ballistic missile submarines, often referred to as "Boomers," serve as an undetectable launch platform for submarine-launched ballistic missiles.
"Projects like this cannot be accomplished without the highest level of cooperation and teamwork between the ship and the yard," said Bevington. "Our focus and attention to safety and cleanliness was the best ever and our safety record is the best of any ERO to date. We are very proud of that."
NNSY, a field activity of the Naval Sea Systems Command, is the oldest and largest industrial facility belonging to the U.S. Navy, and specializes in repairing, overhauling and modernizing ships and submarines.
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