Navy warship production hits 25-year low, falls behind China: report

Naval shipbuilding is experiencing its worst production in 25 years, with the U.S. lagging behind rival China in terms of production pace.

“I don’t see a quick or easy way out of this problem. It’s taken us a long time to get to grips with this problem,” said Eric Labeau, a longtime Navy analyst with the Congressional Budget Office. He told ABC NewsHe added that naval shipbuilding is currently in a “terrible state.”

The comments come as the U.S. faces growing global threats at sea while production slows due to last-minute design changes, cost overruns and an inability to recruit and retain workers to build the ships.

According to the Office of Naval Intelligence, China’s shipbuilding capacity is more than 200 times that of the United States.

ABC News reports that the Marinette Marine contract is just one of many examples of the Navy struggling to meet production volumes. The shipbuilder is reportedly under contract to build six guided-missile frigates, with an option to build four more, but with its current workforce, it can only build one ship per year.

Problems like those facing Marinette Marine are widespread across the country, and shipyards are seeking creative solutions, such as opening training schools or partnering with technical colleges, to equip more workers with the skills needed to build the Navy’s high-tech ships.

According to the report, Secretary of the Navy Carlos del Toro has endorsed such programs and even spoke at a commencement for graduating students at a community college that has partnered with the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard to teach students how to repair nuclear submarines.

“The incumbent on all of us is to consider how we can best use our talents and, in the case of our graduates, our newly acquired skills to build a great nation for all Americans and to protect it from the threats and challenges of our time,” he said at the ceremony.

The unmanned ship Sea Hunter arrived at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on June 29, 2022, to participate in the Rim of the Pacific exercise (RIMPAC). (U.S. Navy Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Aiko Bongolan Photo via The Associated Press)

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Part of the $100 million in Navy funding provided to Marinette Marine is being used for retention bonuses, underscoring the importance of retaining the shipbuilding workforce.

The report also said much of the blame lies with the Navy itself, as it frequently changes ship design requirements after a company has begun construction. But despite vowing to learn from these mistakes, the Navy ended up redesigning 85 percent of the ships Marinette Marine was building, resulting in increased costs and delays.

The report comes after slides from the U.S. Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI) were leaked online last year showing that China’s rapidly expanding navy has the capability to build ships 200 times faster than the United States.

“China sees this decade as a strategic opportunity,” Brent Sadler, a senior fellow for naval warfare and advanced technology at the Heritage Foundation’s Center for National Defense, told Fox News Digital at the time. “I don’t see the curve shifting in the near future that would really start to close the gap with China.”

The U.S. Navy’s Arleigh Burke-class destroyer Rafael Peralta arrived in Sydney, Australia on July 10, 2021. (James D. Morgan/Getty Images)

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But the Navy said it was taking the issue seriously, and a spokesman for del Toro told ABC News the service was looking for more “creative solutions” to the problem.

“The Navy’s role in defending the nation and promoting peace has never been larger or more important,” said Capt. Kyle Hunton. “We will continue to work collaboratively with our industry partners to find creative solutions to solve our shared challenges.”

The Navy did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.