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Navy accelerates moving ships to Mayport
The Navy said Friday it is accelerating the move of the first amphibious ready group ship to Mayport, Fla., with the USS New York now slated to arrive by the end of 2013.
The USS Iowa Jima and USS Fort McHenry will follow in 2014, with all three ships moving away from their current home in Norfolk, Va. The ships were initially set to move to Mayport by the end of 2015.
The move is the latest in a series of political battles between Norfolk and Mayport — and by extension the Virginia and Florida congressional delegations — over the home of Navy ships.
The biggest prize is an aircraft carrier that the Navy has sought to move from Norfolk to Mayport. But the Navy has put that move on hold as part of the Pentagon’s budget cuts, which the Virginia delegation has called a victory for Norfolk.
“This is a great announcement that the secretary has made that we’ll be getting these ships,” Nelson said in a statement. “It’s great news for the local economy; the security of our fleet; it’s great news our country and it’s great news for the ship repair business in Jacksonville.”
Crenshaw said that the move “will expand our region’s broad Navy family, bringing new sailors and their families and giving our industrial base the opportunity to put its expertise on display once again.”
“My fight continues for all parts of the Mayport equation, including the future homeporting of a nuclear aircraft carrier,” he said in a statement.
The Navy said that the early move was made in part to help ensure the “continued viability of the Mayport ship repair industrial base.”
