The U.S. Navy is preparing a nearly $15 billion transformation of Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Bremerton, a project that could secure the yard's role in maintaining American warships for decades to come. The plan centers on a new dry dock intended to handle Ford-class aircraft carriers. It also puts Bremerton's Hammerhead Crane, built in 1933 and with a 250-ton lifting capacity, in focus.
A Shipyard That's Outgrown Its Own Docks
Founded in 1891, Puget Sound Naval Shipyard is now the focus of a major modernization effort. Existing shipyard infrastructure cannot fully support Ford-class carriers. The proposed new dock is intended to serve both Ford- and Nimitz-class carriers.
In early 2023, the Navy temporarily halted operations at four Pacific Northwest dry docks over earthquake vulnerability. WorkBoat describes Dry Dock 4's seismic and operational modernization as including an original $377.7 million reinforcement project and additional improvements.
The Price Tag, Local and National
The planned dry dock is the Navy's largest single infrastructure modernization project. More than 50 completed facilities projects were worth nearly $1.5 billion, with about 50 further projects worth nearly $7 billion under contract. The Navy began soliciting contractors for a decade of waterfront work on September 30, with NAVFAC Northwest's Multiple Award Construction Contract solicitation setting a pre-proposal conference for Thursday and formal design-build proposals due December 1, according to Jackson Holcomb LLP. NAVFAC intends to award roughly five prime contract slots under that structure.
Zoom out, though, and the numbers get much bigger. The Navy's broader modernization effort covers Puget Sound, Portsmouth, Norfolk and Pearl Harbor shipyards and could now cost more than $200 billion and take over 50 years to complete, per Axios. That is a dramatic jump from the Navy's original 2018 estimate of at least $21 billion over 20 years for the same four-yard program, a shift a Government Accountability Office report attributes largely to seismic risks and environmental requirements. Individual yard projects have already blown past early projections elsewhere too — Portsmouth Naval Shipyard alone has reached $41.6 billion after accounting for long-term inflation and environmental scope expansion, according to Baird Maritime, making it the lowest of three yards the GAO reviewed in 2026.
What Disappears, What Moves, What Gets Built
Turning the Bremerton waterfront into a Ford-class-capable yard means demolishing or replacing piers, wharves and major buildings, Axios reports, while new workshops and support facilities go up elsewhere on site.
Early site work is already happening. NAVFAC Northwest awarded an $18.6 million contract to Tompco-Triton Joint Venture on September 17 to demolish the PSNS Marine Machine Shop, one of several aging shore buildings scheduled for clearance ahead of the larger project, according to a NAVFAC Northwest announcement. Construction could begin in 2028, according to the Government Accountability Office.
The Hammerhead Crane
Bremerton's Hammerhead Crane, built in 1933, has a 250-ton lifting capacity.
The Shipyard's Workforce
For Kitsap County, the stakes are largely economic. Puget Sound Naval Shipyard & Intermediate Maintenance Facility employs 15,000 people.
