Bad news for Huntington Ingalls, the only other shipyard that makes Arleigh Burke-class destroyers for the Navy, doesn’t mean the Navy will be more inclined to give BIW future contracts to build ships, according to Navy analysts.

‘We don’t feel the Navy is pushing BIW to use subcontractors, but we’re not shy, we’ll come right out and ask,’ said Tim Suitter, Local S6 spokesman.

Loren Thompson, chief operating officer of the Virginia-based Lexington Institute, said when tension between a company and its unions becomes a chronic issue, it can slow production and increase costs for the customer, the Navy, making the shipyard less likely to win future contracts.

With the frigate contract lost to Italian shipbuilding company Fincantieri, Arleigh Burkes-class destroyers are the only type of ship Bath Iron Works will build for the next decade, save one final Zumwalt class destroyer under construction in Bath.