BAE Systems wins $87M contract at Pearl Harbor
Ensuring the retention of more than 300 jobs at Pearl Harbor for most of the next decade, BAE Systems Inc.'s ship repair division has won a seven-year, $87 million contract from the U.S. Navy to repair ships at BAE's Hawaii Shipyard, the company said yesterday.
The contract covers maintenance of the 12 Navy ships stationed in Hawaii, as well as transient Navy ships that could stop in Hawaii for repairs while at sea, said John Kowalczyk, a spokesman for BAE Systems in Rockville, Md. It means continued employment for 170 BAE employees in Honolulu and for 150 to 170 contractors, Kowalczyk said .
Although BAE pegged the contract's value at $87 million, it actually could be worth as much as $270 million at the end of seven years, Kowalczyk said.
BAE Systems Inc. is the U.S. subsidiary of U.K.-based BAE Systems PLC.
The benefits of the contract go beyond the jobs it creates for BAE and its contractors, said Tom Smythe, military affairs coordinator for the Hawaii Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism. Having the ships docked in Hawaii for repairs also means the crews will be stationed here during that time, which Smythe said is also a benefit for the local economy.
By repairing the Hawaii-based ships at Pearl Harbor, the Navy avoids the costs associated with steaming to the West Coast for repairs, Smythe said.