THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, November 18, 1995 TAG: 9511181599
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A6 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY CHRISTOPHER DINSMORE, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Short : 35 lines
The Navy contracts office in Portsmouth has brought in a skeleton civilian crew to start moving some shipyard bills through for payment, its commander said Friday.
``We're trying to make sure the shipyards get paid,'' said Capt. Robert B. Ploeger, commander of the Supervisor of Shipbuilding, Repair and Conversion office in Portsmouth.
The move means shipyards in Hampton Roads may not be as pinched by the federal government shutdown as shipyard executives have feared.
About 65 workers furloughed Friday by Marine Hydraulics International Inc., a Norfolk shipyard working on the guided-missile frigate Clark, could be called back Monday as a result, said MHI Vice President Gary Brandt.
Certain ships being repaired in local yards have been exempted from the shutdown, Ploeger said.
The contracts office has recalled about 20 of the nearly 400 civilians it laid off Tuesday because of the shutdown to work on the bills for those exempted ships, he said.
Ploeger declined to say what ships were exempt.
``We've worked out a way to make the progress payments if the money's there,'' he said.
``We're pushing to get money that's already owed for work that's already done paid as quickly as possible.'' by CNB