The U.S. Navy expeditionary mobile base USS Miguel Keith completed a five-month overhaul at Mitsubishi Heavy Industries in Yokohama, Japan, April 15, 2025. (Randall Baucom/U.S. Navy)
A U.S. Navy vessel recently completed a five-month overhaul at a Japanese shipyard, a milestone for the service as it seeks to expand joint repair capabilities with allied countries.
The USS Miguel Keith, an expeditionary mobile base, wrapped up its stint at Mitsubishi Heavy Industries in Yokohama on April 15, U.S. Indo-Pacific Command said in a news release Friday.
While Japanese shipyards have provided maintenance service to U.S. warships, the Miguel Keith’s overhaul marked the first time a Japanese shipyard had bid on and won a “contract of this scale” from the U.S. Navy, according to the command.
The $12 million project included replacing 56,000 square feet of nonskid decking and over 300 feet of flight deck catwalk handrails, installing four new galley ovens, repainting the ship’s hull and further deck replacement and preservation, the release said.
The commander of the U.S. Ship Repair Facility and Japan Regional Maintenance Center, Capt. Wendel Penetrante, said contracting with the Japanese shipyard allowed his organization to continue maintenance on three other warships at Yokosuka Naval Base.
“We were even able to complete one of those availabilities 3 days early and respond to two unplanned voyage repairs,” he said in the release.
U.S. law generally prohibits American warships from undergoing major overhauls or repairs in foreign shipyards. But the Miguel Keith contract was exempt because the project took less than six months to complete and the ship wasn’t due in the U.S. within 15 months, according to INDOPACOM.
The command did not immediately respond to an email requesting additional information and comment Monday.
The Navy achieved a similar milestone March 12, when the South Korean shipyard Hanwha Ocean in Gyeongsangnam completed a seven-month overhaul on the dry cargo ship USNS Wally Schirra.
The commander of U.S. Naval Forces Korea, Rear Adm. Neil Koprowski, described the overhaul as a “landmark achievement” and noted that completing maintenance in the region “reduces downtime and costs, while enhancing operational readiness,” according to a March 13 news release from U.S. Pacific Fleet.
Last week, Secretary of the Navy John Phelan visited shipyards in Japan and South Korea as part of his first international tour since taking office.
Among his top priorities was exploring options for further cooperation for military ship repair and commercial ship building, he told Stars and Stripes aboard the USS George Washington at Yokosuka on April 28.
