New Navy Ammunition Pier Improves Capabilities At Seal Beach Station

SEAL BEACH, CA — The new ammunition pier at the Seal Beach Naval Weapons Station is open for business after four and a half years of construction.

With its opening, the ammunition pier is celebrating a significant milestone as the guided-missile destroyer USS Paul Hamilton became the first ship to pull in.

“This project was well over a decade in the making,” said base commanding officer Capt. Jessica
O’Brien. “I’m incredibly proud of all the Navy and contractor personnel who took part in the design and construction of this great new pier, and I’m especially proud and humbled to be here today and see it all come together.”

The new pier replaced an older ammunition wharf that was originally built in 1954 and was only able to support one destroyer ship at a time. The new pier brings improved capabilities to the fleet that will allow dual ship operations.

Now, the pier will be able to support much larger vessels, such as general purpose amphibious assault ships that are nearly three football fields long.

“This new expanded pier facility provides destroyers and other fleet assets with expanded logistical capacity to arm faster and more efficiently,” O’Brien said. “This shore infrastructure is vital for the warfighting readiness of the Surface Force and our Navy.”