Welds of Navy ships scrutinized

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- A shipyard worker's admission that he signed off on inspections he never completed has prompted Northrop Grumman Corp. and the Navy to launch an examination of welds on 13 vessels built or serviced in Newport News since 2005.

The investigation was first reported by the Daily Press of Newport News and was confirmed by Northrop Grumman yesterday.

The inspector worked on submarines and aircraft carriers and was among about 100 workers conducting weld inspections at the shipyard before he was fired. A co-worker told a supervisor about falsified inspection documents, and the inspector admitted to the subterfuge on May 14, the company said.

"It's important to note that the issue regarding this inspector became apparent due to the diligence and accountability of the individual's co-workers," company spokeswoman Margaret Mitchell-Jones said in a statement.

Patricia K. Dolan, a Navy spokeswoman, said the company reported that the inspector signed off on three weld inspections that he did not perform. Now the Navy and the company plan to examine up to 10,000 welds on vessels inspected by the worker, whose name was not released because of an ongoing investigation.

The Navy said the worker has inspected and signed off on thousands of structural and piping welds over the past four years. Each Navy vessel built in Newport News requires hundreds of thousands of welds to construct.

The Naval Criminal Investigative Service was informed about the inspection falsifications on May 20 and began an investigation Wednesday.

The goal is "to gather the facts of what happened, didn't happen, should have happened," said Ed Buice, an NCIS spokesman. "Once the fact-finding is concluded, we will forward the information to the appropriate authority to decide the next course of action."

Buice said NCIS could not comment on the details of an ongoing investigation, but criminal charges are possible.

Northrop characterized the falsified documents as an isolated incident.

"This is a job-performance issue by an individual and primarily involves the inspection of welds as opposed to the welds and weld processes themselves, though all of these matters are under review," Mitchell-Jones said.

It was unclear how much the review will cost and how long it will take.

"The cost to investigate and resolve this issue will be handled in accordance with appropriate government accounting requirements," Mitchell-Jones said.