HII’s Newport News Shipbuilding Marks 140 Years of Service to the Nation

NEWPORT NEWS, Va., (Jan. 28, 2026) — HII’s (NYSE: HII) Newport News Shipbuilding division is marking 140 years of service to the nation today. 

On Jan. 28, 1886, Collis P. Huntington, a businessman whose investments enabled completion of the U.S. transcontinental railroad, turned his focus to shipbuilding, establishing what was first chartered as Chesapeake Dry Dock and Construction Co. and was then renamed Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Company. 

Several years later, the shipyard delivered its first vessel, the tugboat Dorothy, named for the daughter of William C. Whitney, the 31st Secretary of the Navy. Today, Dorothy sits outside the gates of NNS as a reminder of the shipyard’s humble beginnings. 

“For 140 years NNS shipbuilders have answered the call to serve our nation,” NNS President Kari Wilkinson said. “Generations of families have carried forward the noble profession of shipbuilding, proudly maintaining the Newport News Shipbuilding legacy. To this day, we are grateful for all of the shipbuilders who served before us and built what we work so hard today to sustain.” 

Since its founding, NNS has delivered more than 800 ships to commercial and military customers. Today, the shipyard designs, builds, maintains, refuels and inactivates nuclear-powered aircraft carriers and submarines for the U.S. Navy. 

Spanning 550 acres along two miles of the James River, NNS employs 26,000 shipbuilders and is the largest industrial employer in the commonwealth of Virginia. The shipyard also operates an additional location in Goose Creek, South Carolina, to support production.