At around 5 pm local time on August 13, a small fire broke out in the No. 1 dry dock of the U.S. Navy’s nuclear submarine “Hampton” (SSN 767) at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard (PNS), resulting in one injury.
According to information released by Portsmouth Naval Shipyard on social media, the fire started outside the nuclear submarine Hampton and posed no threat to the public. The fire was quickly extinguished.
The accident resulted in one person being injured. The injured person received treatment at the scene and was then transported to a local medical facility for further treatment. The Portsmouth Naval Shipyard is taking measures to ensure that the injured person receives the best possible care.
As a precautionary measure, all non-essential personnel have been temporarily evacuated from the submarine.
At the time of the incident, the nuclear submarine Hampton was undergoing maintenance and upgrades at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, and the nuclear power compartment was not affected by the fire. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
According to public information, the nuclear-powered submarine Hampton is a 688I improved variant of the Los Angeles-class attack submarines. It was built by Newport News Shipbuilding (NNS), a subsidiary of HII, the largest defense shipbuilding enterprise in the U.S., and was officially commissioned in November 1993.
Portsmouth Naval Shipyard was established in 1800 and is the oldest continuously operating shipyard in the history of the U.S. Navy. It has developed into a core maintenance base for the U.S. Navy’s attack nuclear submarines, specializing in the overhaul, modernization, and accident repair of Los Angeles-class and Virginia-class nuclear submarines.
Portsmouth Naval Shipyard currently has three dry docks, with No. 1 Dock 1 undergoing upgrades in 2022 that increased maintenance efficiency by 30%. In 2025, the shipyard launched an $1.87 billion dry dock expansion project, planning to build two additional ultra-large dry docks to enhance maintenance capabilities for Virginia-class Block V submarines. Upon completion in 2028, the facility is expected to accommodate the simultaneous maintenance of five nuclear submarines, with annual production capacity projected to double.