In the last 20 years, NAVSEA 00C5 has proven that
Underwater Ship Husbandry (UWSH) saves money. It often eliminates the need for
drydock repairs, extends the interval between drydockings, and minimizes the
amount of ship time spent in dry dock.
NAVSEA's Underwater Ship Husbandry
Division (UWSH) is chartered to develop techniques, procedures, and equipment to
perform ship repairs waterborne. The Division is responsible as program
director, technical authority, acquisition manager, and life cycle manager for
the Navy UWSH Program.
Program
Mission
The Objectives of the UWSH Program are
to:
- reduce maintenance costs,
- improve fleet readiness,
- and influence ship design.
By preventing or reducing
drydockings, the ship repair process becomes streamlined and cost effective. By
providing the UWSH diver with tools, procedures and technical support to
accomplish various underwater repairs, fleet readiness and self-sufficiency are
increased. Participation in the ship design process provides the opportunity to
ensure a ship is "diver" friendly and easily repaired underwater.
The
UWSH Division uses technical experts as on-site field operators to provide
training and expertise to fleet maintenance activities. We administer worldwide
contracts for underwater hull cleaning and diving services which are beyond the
capability or capacity of fleet assets. Specialized fly-away equipment that is
not frequently used by individual activities, but required for complex UWSH
repair operations is managed and maintained in our warehouses. Engineered
technical documentation and procedures allow fleet activities to properly
conduct underwater maintenance and repairs developed by our engineers and repair
specialists.
The UWSH Division has numerous customers, including Fleet
maintenance activities, NAVSEA field activities (naval shipyards and SUPSHIP)
and various codes within NAVSEA headquarters organization. It also supports MSC,
USCG, and foreign Military Assistance Program, when
requested.
Technical
Publications
Technical documentation developed by
00C5 supporting the UWSH Program, can be found on our Publications
and Technical Documentation page. In addition, some Underwater Ship
Husbandry Manuals are available here in PDF format.
Equipment
In order to improve Fleet readiness and increase
self-sufficiency, 00C5 has assembled a collection of underwater inspection
cameras and can make them available to U.S. Navy Fleet activities requiring that
capability.
Visit ESSM
sitehere.
Naval Activities with a requirement to borrow one
of these systems should use the ESSM Equipment Request system located on the https://secure.SUPSALV.org website.