BREMERTON — One of the world's largest warships floated out of a dry dock at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard on Monday, the culmination of more than a year's work that has continued during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Some $367 million worth of work continues on the USS Carl Vinson, among the nation's fleet of 11 supercarriers, in spite of a reduction in workforce and reported cases of novel coronavirus among both the ship's crew and in the shipyard.

“Despite the challenges, the shipyard and the project team maintained their focus and successfully prioritized undocking the ship,” said Mike Irby, the shipyard's project superintendent, in a news release.

Overhaul is behind schedule

The ship was late exiting the dock because of "significant material deficiencies" to the 1982-commissioned carrier's shafts, rudders and bearings, Irby said, requiring extensive repairs. That delay has pushed back the project's completion time; while the Vinson's homeport will change administratively to San Diego on Aug. 1, it's unclear if the 1,092-foot-long flattop will actually depart by then.

More:USS Carl Vinson captain no stranger to Pacific Northwest

Nonetheless, the shipyard and Vinson leadership celebrated the flooding of the 88-million-gallon dry dock 6, one of just two in the world that can handle such a ship.

“Despite being late to get the ship out of dock, we are all laser-focused on gaining efficiencies that will, in the end, pull the availability completion date to the left," Irby said.

The gritty details

With little fanfare, the Vinson arrived in Bremrton in January 2019 for what is known as a "Docking Planned Incremental Availability" — the technical terminology for $367 million in upgrades to the ship's electrical system, maintenance on shafts, tanks and the ship's rudders, improvements to crew berthing quarters and hull preservation work. The ship is also being readied to become the first aircraft carrier to deploy with a squadron of F-35C Lightning II Joint Strike Fighters as part of its air wing.

As with any carrier overhaul, the sound of such work could at times carry into the surrounding community. A blast machine that vacuumed up steel grit from blasting the hull and tanks of the carrier created a humming sound many in Bremerton and Port Orchard could hear during the winter.

More:Navy eyes second aircraft carrier dry dock at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard

In recent weeks as the COVID-19 pandemic spread, both the shipyard and the Vinson reported their first positive cases before the Pentagon ordered individual military commands to stop reporting them.

“The current pandemic has certainly challenged us, but we pulled together as a team, alongside the ship’s force and all of our other partners to get this aircraft carrier back in the water," said Capt. Dianna Wolfson, the shipyard's commander.

More:No vacancy: Puget Sound Naval Shipyard dry docks busy in 2020 and beyond