Weld trouble on Northrop Grumman ships

NEW ORLEANS (AP) - The Navy says numerous welds may be faulty on warships built in the past two years by Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding at shipyards on the Gulf Coast and that engineers are correcting the problems.

The Navy says engineers have been inspecting Northrop Grumman-built warships since last summer. It added Thursday that the inspections began after Navy engineers found that between 10 percent and 15 percent of pipe welds on warships built at the yards were not thick enough and could shorten a vessel's life-span.

The Navy says faulty pipe welds were found on destroyers, LPD assaults ships and on one big-deck amphibious assault ship. All of the vessels were built at Northrop Grumman's shipyards in Avondale, La., and Pascagoula, Miss.