Jacksonville, FL — U.S. Senators Marco Rubio and Bill Nelson and Florida U.S. Representative John Rutherford have sent Navy Secretary Richard Spencer a letter regarding recent decisions to remove certain ships from Mayport for ship maintenance. The lawmakers say moving these ships from their homeport appears to be a violation of law. The two Republicans- Rubio and Rutherford- and Democrat- Nelson- believe the move hurts sailors and their families.
The ships in question are three Patrol Craft ships: USS Zephyr, USS Shamal and USS Tornado. The lawmakers say policy changes in the last year have led to the ships and their sailors being removed from Naval Station Mayport for a Docking Phased Maintenance Availability, or DPMA. Current law requires that work to be done locally if the maintenance is less than ten months long and adequate competition exists, and according to the lawmakers, that was the case with these vessels. They say recent action taken by the Navy’s Southeast Regional Maintenance Center increased the timeline for the USS Zephyr to more than ten months, and that’s a pattern that’s been taking place recently.
Senators Rubio and Nelson and Congressman Rutherford contend the Navy’s actions impact quality of life for sailors and families and lessen the local ship repair and maintenance workforce. They contend that the Jacksonville ship repair industrial base has already seen reduced ship counts and further removals will only exacerbate the problem.
The lawmakers are asking for clarification on several issues, including if firms at Mayport are qualified to do the work required, and if so, they want to know if those firms were solicited for bids. They’d also like to get background on any of the Mayport firms found to be unqualified. If the firms are unqualified, then under law, the work would be able to be performed elsewhere.
