Guests arrive for the christening ceremony of the Harvey C. Barnum Jr. at Bath Iron Works on Saturday. Ben McCanna/Staff Photographer

Bath Iron Works has received another multiyear contract from the U.S. Navy to create three Flight III Arleigh Burke-class destroyers.

Each ship will be built successively, with funding expected in the fiscal years of 2023, 2024 and 2026, according to an announcement Tuesday. Each ship takes about six years to build. Included in the contract is the potential for an additional five ships if BIW improves its production rate to about 1.5 ships a year and produces the three guaranteed ships on time.

“We are pleased that this contract will provide a stable foundation to the shipyard for at least the next five years and ensure our sailors – and country – have the ships they need to keep the nation safe. In addition, as BIW continues to work to deliver DDG-51s on time and increase productivity in the coming years, the contract includes the potential for additional ships and more work,” U.S. Sens. Susan Collins and Angus King, and Reps. Chellie Pingree and Jared Golden said in a joint statement.

While the total amount of the contract has not been disclosed, the Flight III destroyers cost roughly $2 billion each, putting the cost of the project at roughly $6 billion without considering the potential for additional options.

Arleigh Burke-class destroyers make up the majority of the BIW production, with six ships currently in production – three of which are the Flight III model. According to the company’s website, Bath Iron Works is responsible for the construction of about half of the Arleigh-Burke destroyers in the U.S. Navy’s fleet. The next ship expected to go to sea is the USS John Basilone (DDG 122), which will go to sea trials later this year and should be delivered in early 2024.

The new contract comes on the heels of the recent christening of the USS Harvey C. Barnum, the 40th Arleigh Burke destroyer built at BIW.

At the end of 2022, BIW was the state’s fourth-largest private employer. Through the pandemic, it continued to set high hiring goals to combat increasing retirement rates in the company and keep up with production expectations. The company, a subsidiary of General Dynamics, employs roughly 6,600 people directly, and has brought in at least 1,000 new employees each year since 2019. However, in 2021, the company had a retirement rate of 15 to 20 people per month.

With this contract, however, the shipyard expects continued high employment with promises of long-term job opportunities.

“[This contract] enables the shipyard to increase our workforce and invest in new production facilities, both of which will help us continue improvements in schedule and efficiency,” said BIW communication principal Dave Hench.

This story was updated at 9 a.m. Thursday to correct the construction time for each ship.