The temporary construction hotwork halt aboard aircraft carrier John F. Kennedy (CVN 79) following the 20 July fire at Newport News Shipbuilding is a general safety measure meant to ensure the US Navy (USN) and shipyard have all the right protocols in place, according to James Geurts, assistant secretary of the navy for research, development and acquisition.

“With the hotwork on JFK ( John F. Kennedy ), that is more of a ‘stand down and make sure we’ve got all the procedures in place’ (measure),” Geurts told reporters on 30 July during a telephone press conference.

Following a fire on 20 July, hotwork was halted on aircraft carrier John F. Kennedy, which was launched in December from a dry dock in Newport News Shipbuilding. (Huntington Ingalls Industries)

Regarding what such a halt could mean for the programme, he said, “I don’t see a huge impact”.

He said, “They had some hotwork sparks (that were) put out by the fire watch.”

However, he also noted, “There’s no such [thing] as a small fire. They’re all critical.”

The temporary construction hotwork halt aboard aircraft carrier John F. Kennedy (CVN 79) following the 20 July fire at Newport News Shipbuilding is a general safety measure meant to ensure the US Navy (USN) and shipyard have all the right protocols in place, according to James Geurts, assistant secretary of the navy for research, development and acquisition.

“With the hotwork on JFK ( John F. Kennedy ), that is more of a ‘stand down and make sure we’ve got all the procedures in place’ (measure),” Geurts told reporters on 30 July during a telephone press conference.

Following a fire on 20 July, hotwork was halted on aircraft carrier John F. Kennedy, which was launched in December from a dry dock in Newport News Shipbuilding. (Huntington Ingalls Industries)

Regarding what such a halt could mean for the programme, he said, “I don’t see a huge impact”.

He said, “They had some hotwork sparks (that were) put out by the fire watch.”

However, he also noted, “There’s no such [thing] as a small fire. They’re all critical.”

The temporary construction hotwork halt aboard aircraft carrier John F. Kennedy (CVN 79) following the 20 July fire at Newport News Shipbuilding is a general safety measure meant to ensure the US Navy (USN) and shipyard have all the right protocols in place, according to James Geurts, assistant secretary of the navy for research, development and acquisition.

“With the hotwork on JFK ( John F. Kennedy ), that is more of a ‘stand down and make sure we’ve got all the procedures in place’ (measure),” Geurts told reporters on 30 July during a telephone press conference.

Following a fire on 20 July, hotwork was halted on aircraft carrier John F. Kennedy, which was launched in December from a dry dock in Newport News Shipbuilding. (Huntington Ingalls Industries)

Regarding what such a halt could mean for the programme, he said, “I don’t see a huge impact”.

He said, “They had some hotwork sparks (that were) put out by the fire watch.”

However, he also noted, “There’s no such [thing] as a small fire. They’re all critical.”

The temporary construction hotwork halt aboard aircraft carrier John F. Kennedy (CVN 79) following the 20 July fire at Newport News Shipbuilding is a general safety measure meant to ensure the US Navy (USN) and shipyard have all the right protocols in place, according to James Geurts, assistant secretary of the navy for research, development and acquisition.

“With the hotwork on JFK ( John F. Kennedy ), that is more of a ‘stand down and make sure we’ve got all the procedures in place’ (measure),” Geurts told reporters on 30 July during a telephone press conference.

Following a fire on 20 July, hotwork was halted on aircraft carrier John F. Kennedy, which was launched in December from a dry dock in Newport News Shipbuilding. (Huntington Ingalls Industries)

Regarding what such a halt could mean for the programme, he said, “I don’t see a huge impact”.

He said, “They had some hotwork sparks (that were) put out by the fire watch.”

However, he also noted, “There’s no such [thing] as a small fire. They’re all critical.”

The temporary construction hotwork halt aboard aircraft carrier John F. Kennedy (CVN 79) following the 20 July fire at Newport News Shipbuilding is a general safety measure meant to ensure the US Navy (USN) and shipyard have all the right protocols in place, according to James Geurts, assistant secretary of the navy for research, development and acquisition.

“With the hotwork on JFK ( John F. Kennedy ), that is more of a ‘stand down and make sure we’ve got all the procedures in place’ (measure),” Geurts told reporters on 30 July during a telephone press conference.

Following a fire on 20 July, hotwork was halted on aircraft carrier John F. Kennedy, which was launched in December from a dry dock in Newport News Shipbuilding. (Huntington Ingalls Industries)

Regarding what such a halt could mean for the programme, he said, “I don’t see a huge impact”.

He said, “They had some hotwork sparks (that were) put out by the fire watch.”

However, he also noted, “There’s no such [thing] as a small fire. They’re all critical.”

The temporary construction hotwork halt aboard aircraft carrier John F. Kennedy (CVN 79) following the 20 July fire at Newport News Shipbuilding is a general safety measure meant to ensure the US Navy (USN) and shipyard have all the right protocols in place, according to James Geurts, assistant secretary of the navy for research, development and acquisition.

“With the hotwork on JFK ( John F. Kennedy ), that is more of a ‘stand down and make sure we’ve got all the procedures in place’ (measure),” Geurts told reporters on 30 July during a telephone press conference.

Following a fire on 20 July, hotwork was halted on aircraft carrier John F. Kennedy, which was launched in December from a dry dock in Newport News Shipbuilding. (Huntington Ingalls Industries)

Regarding what such a halt could mean for the programme, he said, “I don’t see a huge impact”.

He said, “They had some hotwork sparks (that were) put out by the fire watch.”

However, he also noted, “There’s no such [thing] as a small fire. They’re all critical.”