Vigor Marine Lands $240.57 Million in Navy Contracts for Two Ships

Vigor Marine has won two U.S. Navy contracts worth a combined $240.57 million to maintain and modernize the guided-missile destroyer USS Gridley and the hospital ship USNS Mercy.

The larger of the two awards, announced November 6, 2026, is a $222.48 million firm-fixed-price contract covering maintenance, modernization, and repairs during USS Gridley's fiscal 2027 Depot Modernization Period. That single ship accounts for more than 92% of the total deal value.

What does the Gridley contract include?

The contract carries options that could lift its total value to approximately $232.54 million. Work will take place in Seattle, Washington, with completion expected by December 2028.

The project scope covers:

• Labor
• Equipment
• Supervision
• Testing
• Facilities
• Quality assurance activities

All of it supports the Navy's required modernization and maintenance program for the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer. The work addresses systems and equipment during the ship's scheduled maintenance availability and backs the vessel's continued readiness.

The Navy made the award under provisions that let it preserve required industrial mobilization capabilities. In plain terms: the Pentagon wants these shipyards to stay in business.

For funding, the Navy obligated approximately $222.48 million for USS Gridley from a combination of procurement and operations and maintenance money.

What about the USNS Mercy?

The second contract, announced November 5, is worth $18.08 million. It covers a 59-calendar-day shipyard availability for the Military Sealift Command hospital ship USNS Mercy.

The maintenance window runs from February 8, 2027, to April 7, 2027. Vigor Marine will perform the shipyard maintenance package in Portland, Oregon.

This deal includes three unexercised options that could raise its cumulative value to approximately $20.95 million. The Navy obligated roughly $18.08 million in fiscal 2027 operations and maintenance funding at the time of the award.

Military Sealift Command in Norfolk, Virginia, is the contracting activity for the Mercy project.

How big could this get?

If the Navy exercises every identified option across both awards, the combined potential value reaches approximately $253.49 million — about $12.92 million above the current ceiling.

The two projects differ sharply in scale and mission:

• USS Gridley: $222.48 million base, surface combatant readiness, Seattle, completion by December 2028
• USNS Mercy: $18.08 million base, military medical support, Portland, a 59-day availability ending April 7, 2027

Together, the awards expand Vigor Marine's ship repair workload across its facilities in Washington and Oregon. The ships come from different classes with distinct operational missions, ranging from surface combatant readiness to military medical support.

The deals also signal something larger about the defense industrial base. They reflect the Navy's ongoing reliance on commercial shipyards to maintain and modernize its fleet while preserving specialized ship repair capacity — a dependence that keeps yards like Vigor's Pacific Northwest operations booked with steady, federally funded work through at least 2028.