General Dynamics NASSCO starts construction on a new panel line
On Wednesday, August 2, General Dynamics NASSCO began construction on a new panel line designed to increase efficiencies in the shipbuilding process.
With an output as thin as five millimeters, the new panel line will significantly improve NASSCO’s ability to manufacture all steel structures—especially thin plate—and will double steel processing and production rates. Thinner plate allows for the design of increasingly cost-effective and fuel-efficient vessels.
The new panel line will benefit future shipbuilding programs, including containerships for commercial customer Matson, Inc., and fleet replenishment oilers for the U.S. Navy.
NASSCO is the only major shipyard on the West Coast of the United States conducting design, construction and repair of commercial and U.S. Navy ships. In the past decade, NASSCO delivered more than 30 ocean-going ships to government and commercial customers.
