Future USS Harvey C. Barnum Jr. (DDG-124) Leaves Bath Iron Works

The future USS Harvey C. Barnum Jr. (DDG-124), an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer, departed General Dynamics Bath Iron Works in Bath, Maine, for the final time on March 4, 2026, local photography shows, marking a visible milestone for Sagadahoc County’s shipbuilding industry. The vessel leaves the yard after a months-long sequence of final outfitting and acceptance steps that began with a formal transfer to the Navy.

The U.S. Navy accepted delivery of the ship from Bath Iron Works on Nov. 17, with the transfer completed on 17 November 2025, according to Navy transfer notices and local government messaging. That delivery date preceded the March 4 departure, reflecting the common pattern of acceptance followed by yard departure and movement toward commissioning and sea trials.

The ship’s construction history at BIW includes a keel-laying ceremony held April 6, with the Navy’s Team Ships Public Affairs issuing a release April 7 describing the event. The ship’s namesake, Col. Harvey “Barney” Barnum Jr. (USMC, Ret.), and his wife and ship sponsor, Martha Hill, attended the ceremony; Martha Hill authenticated the keel by etching her initials into the keel plate while, with the assistance of BIW welder Marty Fish, Barnum inscribed his signature onto the keel plate. Acting Secretary of the Navy Thomas W. Harker, Maine Sens. Susan Collins and Angus King Jr., and Rep. Chellie Pingree were also in attendance at the keel-laying.

Capt. Seth Miller, DDG 51 class program manager, framed the keel event in personal terms: “Col. Barnum has spent his life in service to our country and it is an honor to lay the keel of his ship,” and “This ship and all who serve aboard it will be a reminder of the honor, courage, and commitment that Col. Barnum embodies.” Those remarks accompanied the sponsor-authentication and signature traditions that mark the formal joining of modular components in modern ship construction.

Bath Iron Works remains busy with multiple other destroyer hulls and a future Zumwalt-class ship on its ways, reflecting sustained local workload. BIW is also in production on the future Arleigh Burke-class destroyers Carl M. Levin (DDG 120), John Basilone (DDG 122), Patrick Gallagher (DDG 127), Flight III ships Louis H. Wilson Jr. (DDG 126) and William Charette (DDG 130), and the future Zumwalt-class destroyer Lyndon B. Johnson (DDG 1002). Local and state messaging around the transfer used the phrase “Bath Built is Best Built” to underscore the economic role of shipbuilding in Bath and Sagadahoc County.

A social-media post on r/WarshipPorn included an image of DDG-124 and listed the ship as a Flight IIA Arleigh Burke-class with a scheduled commissioning date of April 11, 2026; that flight designation and commissioning date are reported in the post and have not been confirmed by Navy or BIW public-affairs releases included in the transfer and keel-laying materials. The March 4 departure moves DDG-124 from shipyard milestones toward formal fleet integration, closing the construction chapter that began with the April keel-laying and the Nov. 17, 2025 transfer and positioning the ship for commissioning and subsequent sea trials.