Newport News Shipbuilding, a division of Huntington Ingalls Industries (NYSE:HII), marked a major milestone this week in the refueling and complex overhaul (RCOH) of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72). The shipyard installed the final section of the ship's main mast: the 38-foot upper mast section, the shipbuilding group said in a press release.
A brief mast-stepping ceremony was held Tuesday for Lincoln shipbuilders and the crew on the flight deck of the ship to commemorate the milestone. Mast-stepping ceremonies are a common tradition dating back to ancient Rome and symbolize good luck. During the mast-stepping, commemorative coins and ship memorabilia are placed under the mast section.
The last section of the mast, weighing 33 tons, was lifted in sequence by two cranes. The shipyard's 310-ton gantry crane lifted the mast section onto the flight deck, and then a mobile crane on the flight deck lifted the section into its final position on the mast. The mast, when erected, is too tall for the 310-ton gantry crane to travel over, so the mobile crane completed the lofty installation.
During refurbishment, the original round mast pole was removed and replaced with a modified, tapered square pole to increase strength and keep electrical piping systems enclosed. The square pole is also larger, which allows for waist-high rails and easier access to all areas by internal ladders.
USS Abraham Lincoln arrived at Newport News in March 2013 to begin the RCOH process. During the carrier's RCOH, the shipyard refuels the ship's reactors, paints the ship's hull, modernizes systems and performs a complete recapitalization of the entire ship. This process produces a recapitalized carrier capable of supporting current and future warfare doctrine. Once the RCOH is complete, USS Abraham Lincoln will continue to operate in the U.S. Navy fleet for another 25 years. Lincoln's RCOH is 45 percent complete and on track for delivery in October 2016.
Huntington Ingalls Industries designs, builds and manages the life-cycle of the most complex nuclear and conventionally-powered ships for the U.S. Navy and Coast Guard. For more than a century, HII’s Newport News and Ingalls shipbuilding divisions in Virginia and Mississippi have built more ships in more ship classes than any other U.S. naval shipbuilder. HII also provides engineering and project management services expertise to the commercial energy industry, the Department of Energy and other government customers. Headquartered in Newport News, Virginia, HII employs more than 39,000 people operating both domestically and internationally.
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