Boston Ship Repair has been awarded a $10.96 million contract for the regular overhaul dry docking of the fleet replenishment oiler USNS Leroy Grumman.

The contract, announced Wednesday by the Department of Defense, funds a 60-calendar day regular overhaul of the vessel that will start on March 4, 2019 and is expected to be finished by May 2, 2019. Work on the contract will be done in Boston.

The overhaul will include an overhaul of the ship's diesel generator, main engine service, and underwater hull and freeboard preservation, as well as other general services, the Pentagon said.

The Grumman is a Henry J. Kaiser-class oiler used for fleet replenishment, allowing U.S. Navy vessels to remain at sea for longer periods of time.

The contract includes options that, if exercised, would increase the value of the contract to just under $12 million.

The Navy obligated the full $10.96 million to Boston Ship Repair from fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance funds, all of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year.

USNS Comfort returns to port from 11-week medical support mission
Washington (UPI) Dec 19, 2018 - The USNS Comfort on Wednesday arrived at Naval Station Norfolk, following an 11-week mission to Central and South America to provide medical services and relieve shortages there.

The docking is the end of the Comfort's 11-week medical mission to Central and South America in support of U.S. Southern Command's Enduring Promise initiative. Ecuador, Peru, Colombia and Honduras are partners included in the program to help relieve shortages in medical care in the region.

A surge in cross-border migrants who often need medical care has put increased strain on already overstretched health services across South and Central America.

The 465 doctors, nurses and corpsmen aboard the ship, as well as the 90 medical and dental professional volunteers from non-governmental organizations, treated more than 26,000 patients and conducted about 600 surgeries, according to the U.S. Navy.

"This deployment reflects the United States enduring promise of friendship, partnership and solidarity with our partners in the Americas," Rear Adm. Sean Buck, commander of U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command, said in a press release.

The Comfort is a non-commissioned USNS ship crewed mainly by civilians with naval attachments. It is a mobile ship-based Level III medical facility which is capable of initial treatment, surgical operations and post-operative care.

In its deployments to the Caribbean and Central and South America during the last decade, the Navy said the ship has treated 390,000 people and performed more than 6,000 surgeries.

Its mission, along with its sister ship, the USNS Mercy, is to support both combat military operations with treatment of casualties to provide medical services during humanitarian and disaster relief operations.

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