US - Plan by Navy to base more submarines at Pearl Harbor expected to boost to Hawaii's economy

HONOLULU — A plan by the U.S. Navy to base more submarines at Pearl Harbor is expected to bring a boost to Hawaii's economy.

U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye's office says that over the next two years, up to five submarines will be added to Hawaii's 19-boat fleet, the Honolulu Star Advertiser reported Saturday (http://bit.ly/z3djtA).

About 90 percent of the work done at the Navy's shipyard is on submarines, the newspaper reported. With a total of about 4,900 employees and an economic impact of $907 million a year, officials say each additional submarine will pump millions of dollars into the local economy in salaries, spending and repair work.

"Submarine work is good work. It's the kind of jobs you want — well-paid, highly technical jobs," said Robert Lillis, president of the International Association of Machinists Local 1998, which represents mechanics in Hawaii's private ship repair industry.

Among the additions planned are two more Virginia-class attack submarines, one in fiscal year 2013 and another in 2014, Inouye's office said.

The additional submarines will expand what is already the greatest concentration of Navy submarines in the Pacific. The Navy said no submarine retirements are planned out of Pearl Harbor over the next two fiscal years.

The planned increase in the number of submarines comes as the Navy also plans to reduce Pearl Harbor's surface fleet from nine from 11 ships. But Inouye's office says the additional submarines will increase the total number of ships and subs based at the harbor.