WASHINGTON — A U.S. Navy aircraft carrier going through its mid-life refueling is now delayed by more than a year, due to new work that emerged during the repair and pandemic-related labor challenges.

Nimitz-class carrier George Washington began its refueling and complex overhaul at Newport News Shipbuilding in August 2017. These RCOHs, conducted halfway through a carrier’s 50-year service life to refuel the nuclear power reactor and conduct significant repairs and upgrades, typically last four years.

Under a four-year schedule, George Washington would have been complete by August 2021. The ship reached a 50% milestone right on time, in August 2019, and several subsequent news releases noted a 2021 completion date.

By September 2020, though, a company news release noted a 2022 date. The Navy now tells Defense News the carrier is on track to complete the RCOH in December 2022.

“The RCOH is currently 92.5% complete, with some propulsion plant work, catapult work, and combat systems testing remaining,” Naval Sea Systems Command spokesman Alan Baribeau wrote in a March 17 email.

He said the two main causes of the delay were unplanned growth work, though he did not specify in what areas, as well as labor inefficiencies.

“COVID-19 has also contributed to the delay, both directly (e.g. teams quarantined after a positive case) and indirectly (e.g. vendors’ supply chain delays),” he wrote. “The Navy has increased government oversight at the shipyard to preserve and mitigate further schedule delays.”

Amid these challenges, Newport News Shipbuilding has been working on a record number of carriers at once. It is wrapping up the end of George Washington’s RCOH and working on the early phases of John C. Stennis’ RCOH. It is building carriers John F. Kennedy, Enterprise and Doris Miller and had been working on Gerald R. Ford’s first planned incremental availability, which ended on March 1. And decommissioned carrier Enterprise (CVN-65) is also at the yard awaiting disposal.

Baribeau said Stennis’ RCOH was pushed from January 2021 to May 2021 to allow for enough preparation time ahead of the ship entering the dry dock. After beginning work May 13, the ship is now 17.9% complete.

“USS John C. Stennis is not experiencing any parts issues due to USS George Washington’s extended duration. USS John C. Stennis and USS George Washington do share some manpower, but that has limited impact due to different labor and skill mix requirements at the respective phases of their RCOH,” he said.