The Department of Defense will allow the repair of naval vessels in shipyards outside the United States and Guam if the conditions under the amended Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement are met.
DOD’s Defense Acquisition Regulations System published the DFARS amendment in the Federal Register on Wednesday. Current acquisition regulations restrict the construction and repair of naval vessels in foreign shipyards.
Once the amended DFARS takes effect on Monday, repairs in foreign locations can be performed if hostile actions or interventions cause the damage and if a naval vessel is classified as a littoral combat ship and operating on a deployment for corrective and preventive maintenance or repair and facilities maintenance, according to the final rule.
The amendments will also prohibit foreign workers or contractors from doing corrective and preventive maintenance or repair on a naval vessel unless the secretary of the Navy approves the action. Ship construction in a foreign shipyard remains restricted.
The changes to DFARS were made to reflect the naval vessel repair restrictions under Section 1025 of the fiscal year 2021 National Defense Authorization Act.