Huntington Ingalls Industries’ Ingalls Shipbuilding division moved destroyer Delbert D. Black (DDG 119) to Pier Four on the east bank of the Pascagoula River on June 5, signifying the reopening of a facility decimated in Hurricane Katrina.
The newly reactivated, 187-acre east bank features covered construction areas to improve safety and optimize ship assembly, expansive storage facilities and a fully restored pier where ships will dock upon returning from sea trials. HII said Delbert D. Black and its crew will remain on the east bank until the ship’s sail-away date later this year.
“This restoration and modernization project demonstrates our commitment to continuously enhancing our shipbuilding facilities to increase capability and ensure future growth,” Ingalls Shipbuilding president Brian Cuccias said. “We are proud to see more of our workforce, and our customers, moving back into the heart of the city of Pascagoula.”
Throughout the reactivation project, Ingalls cleared and recycled more than 100,000 tons of concrete which was used to construct a road base on the east bank. All of the interior and exterior lighting on the east bank will use LED technology.
Many historical features from original east bank facilities were salvaged and incorporated into new structures on the property, including all of the bricks from a 1930s guard house as well as a concrete slab into which Robert Ingalls Sr., founder of Ingalls Shipbuilding, carved his initials.
