Detyens Shipyards Wins $23 Million USNS Leroy Grumman Overhaul Contract

Detyens Shipyards of North Charleston, South Carolina, has won a Military Sealift Command firm-fixed-price contract worth up to $23.21 million for the regular overhaul and drydocking of the fleet replenishment oiler USNS Leroy Grumman. The small-business set-aside covers a 152-calendar-day shipyard availability in North Charleston, scheduled to begin Jan. 20, 2027, and finish June 20, 2027. The work spans hull preservation, tank and piping repairs, machinery servicing, and maintenance of the ship’s underway replenishment equipment.

USNS Leroy Grumman Overhaul Details

Detyens will drydock and undock the oiler, clean and paint portions of its underwater hull, preserve its freeboard, maintain the propeller system and stern tube seals, and overhaul sea valves. The overhaul work-item index also calls for rudder and stern-frame examinations, propulsion-shaft measurements, and checks of shaft alignment and bearing reactions.

Elsewhere on the ship, Detyens will replace the starboard cargo potable deck, repair window gaskets and steel, and blast and paint the port and starboard superstructure. Tank work includes cleaning and gas-freeing spaces before repairs, preserving both No. 4 ballast tanks and a cargo petroleum tank, and replacing sections of aqueous film-forming foam, sludge and steam piping. The scheduled work package also identifies 4,000 square feet of topside painting and 2,000 square feet of machinery-space painting.

The availability extends to the systems used to operate and replenish the ship. Detyens will service a high-pressure air compressor, inspect the main reduction gear, maintain navigation and communications equipment, refurbish components of a spanwire winch, and recertify cargo gear. The solicitation also calls for production testing and quality assurance; the work package provides for dock and sea trials before redelivery.

Fleet Oiler Background

Leroy Grumman is a Henry J. Kaiser-class oiler in Military Sealift Command’s Combat Logistics Force. Fleet oilers transfer fuel to Navy ships and their aircraft while underway and carry food and other dry cargo, according to MSC’s fleet-oiler program description. The MSC fleet handbook lists Leroy Grumman among the Kaiser-class ships, giving context for the overhaul of a vessel that remains in service.

The Navy is introducing John Lewis-class oilers to recapitalize the Kaiser-class fleet; it accepted delivery of the third ship in the newer class in May 2024. Its May 2026 shipbuilding plan lists Leroy Grumman for decommissioning in 2030, while stating that future decommissioning plans will be reviewed annually. The planned 2027 overhaul will maintain the older oiler during that transition.

Award and Contractor Background

Military Sealift Command received four offers for the set-aside competition. The initial award to Detyens is $20.45 million; the higher potential value reflects additional work and time that could be authorized under the contract.

Detyens has held several recent contracts for the same ship: a regular overhaul with a potential value of $22.16 million and a performance end date in September 2024, a midterm availability and drydocking contract worth up to $19.09 million ending in August 2025, and a midterm availability contract worth up to $14.73 million ending in May 2026. Those awards document the shipyard’s recent work on Leroy Grumman ahead of the newly awarded availability.

This award was disclosed by the DoW in its daily press release. Additional contract details will be available on HigherGov in approximately 90 days under N3220527C0012 after the contract is formally disclosed by the government.