''Shippingport'' (ARDM-4) is an

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

Medium Auxiliary Repair Dry Dock. She is one of the Navy's two medium auxiliary repair dry docks, and was the first floating dry dock built for the

US Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

since

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

.Shippingport (ARDM 4)
NavySite.de Laid down in 1977, delivered and placed in service on 4 January 1979, she is still in service at the Naval Submarine Support Facility at

Naval Submarine Base New London Naval Submarine Base New London is the primary United States Navy East Coast submarine base, also known as the "Home of the Submarine Force." It is located in Groton, Connecticut directly across the Thames River from its namesake city of New L ...

, in

Groton, Connecticut Groton is a town in New London County, Connecticut located on the Thames River. It is the home of General Dynamics Electric Boat, which is the major contractor for submarine work for the United States Navy. The Naval Submarine Base New London i ...

. With a displacement of 5400 tons, this floating dry dock had a lifting capacity of 7800 tons. ''Shippingport'' has two 25 ton portal gantry cranes on tracks, one running along the top deck of each hull side superstructure. She is a government owned, private contractor operated, restored and certified drydock used to execute submarine repairs.Operational Drydock Capabilities Return to SUBASE New London
Navy News Service, September 13, 2012 In October 2010, while ''Shippingport'' (ARDM-4) was nearing the end of her overhaul at BAE Systems Ship Repair at Norfolk, Virginia, the

U.S. Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD or DOD) is an executive branch department of the federal government charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government directly related to national secur ...

( DoD) announced that

General Dynamics Electric Boat General Dynamics Electric Boat (GDEB) is a subsidiary of General Dynamics Corporation. It has been the primary builder of submarines for the United States Navy for more than 100 years. The company's main facilities are a shipyard in Groton, C ...

was awarded an additional $6.5 million to its contract for ship forces duties during ''Shippingports naval service craft overhaul (SCO) and recertification. In September 2012, after being out of service for almost four years, ''Shippingport'' completed her SCO and year-long recertification. The SCO included structural modifications to enable a lifting capacity to support a ''Virginia''-class ( SSN) nuclear attack submarine. In November 2013, General Dynamics Electric Boat announced it was awarded an additional $7.1 million contract by Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) for further repairs and preservation of floating dry dock ''Shippingport'' (ARDM-4), with the work to be completed by September 2014.Electric Boat gets $7.1 million for ARDM-4 work
Marine Log, November 7, 2013

References

* ttps://www.navysite.de/ardm/ardm4.htm NavySite.de: General Characteristics and Image Gallery - Shippingport (ARDM-4) {{DEFAULTSORT:Shippingport 1977 ships Ships built in Sparrows Point, Maryland ARD-12-class floating drydocks Floating drydocks of the United States Navy