U.S Navy To Identify International Shipyards To Repair Its Ships In a Possible War With China

After getting Congress’ approval, the United States will perform repairs and maintenance work on at least six naval vessels at international shipyards in 2025.

This is important to keep pace with China’s growing naval capacity.

Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro said that if the country goes to war, it will know which shipyards to send its vessels for repair when needed.

Given the present circumstances, if there is a war in the Taiwan Strait, the United States will return its ships to Guam, Hawaii or the shipyards on its West Coast for repairs. By conducting repairs close to the country, the U.S can return them to war faster.

He added that maintenance would take around three months.

The U.S. Navy has conducted repairs at the shipyards of its allies and partner nations but on a small scale.

In April, the U.S decided to explore Japanese shipyards for the same purpose, and Navy Secretary visited the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries’ yard in Japan’s Yokohama.

Prior to that, he visited South Korea to explore shipyards in Ulsan city.

India has also emerged as a hub for repairing and maintaining US Naval Ships. USNS Charles Drew, USNS Matthew Perry, etc., visited India for repairs at Larsen and Toubro’s shipyard near Chennai.

Though repairing ships in overseas shipyards might be suitable for countries from an economic perspective, using them during wars might put partner nations on edge since the shipyards could become the adversary’s first target in such a situation.

However, the United States Navy has made using foreign facilities for ship repairs and maintenance its top priority since its own facilities cannot accommodate all its vessels.

America lags behind China, and its shipbuilding has slowed since the 1980s due to certain regulations, budget constraints, and a decreasing workforce. The U.S. needs over 50,000 workers in its shipyards to meet the rising demand.

Thus, according to Colin Grabow, an associate director at the Cato Institute, container ships constructed in the U.S. are four to five times costlier than ones built in Asia.

References: Eurasian Times, Nikkei Asia

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