KITTERY – The Portsmouth Naval Shipyard has been awarded an $8 million Navy contract to upgrade and expand its submarine maintenance facilities, U.S. Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins announced Friday.

The Navy’s Fleet Integrated Logistics Overhaul Team will expand the range of repair and maintenance services performed on the Los Angeles-class nuclear attack submarines at the shipyard. These services will extend the operational life of the vessels, according to the Navy.

The shipyard – the oldest in the country – refuels, repairs and reconditions submarines.

“Continuing improvements to the Kittery-Portsmouth Naval Shipyard are keeping this vital facility at the vanguard of our national security installations,” Snowe said.

“I’m glad to see this project move forward,” Collins, a member of the Armed Services Committee and the Seapower Subcommittee, said in a prepared statement. “I worked very closely with members of the Military Construction Subcommittee of the appropriations Committee in seeking the funding necessary to make these upgrades.”

The contract will significantly upgrade Berth 14 at the shipyard and bring the waterfront crane systems up to Navy standards, she said.

The upgrades will be completed by August 2003.