Honoring Pearl Harbor’s Shipbuilders: New Exhibit Opens at Pacific Fleet Submarine Museum
By Mike Wilson
PHNSY & IMF Public Affairs
PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii — Officials cut the ribbon on a new shipyard display at the Pacific Fleet Submarine Museum July 15, 2026, adding a dedicated look at Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard’s role in keeping Navy ships and submarines ready for service across the Indo-Pacific.
The display highlights the shipyard’s long history at Pearl Harbor, from its early days as a coaling and repair station to its current mission supporting fleet readiness. Museum officials said the exhibit is intended to help visitors connect the submarine force’s history with the work of the civilian and uniformed shipyard teams who maintain and modernize the Navy’s undersea fleet.
“This exhibit shows an incredible piece of shipyard history and what the shipyard does,” said Capt. Ryan McCrillis, commander, Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility.
Visitors can explore this daily work through the display of foundry tools, dry-docking challenge coins, a welder’s mask and hardhat, shipyard tools and a history video all showcasing the 6,700-strong workforce required to keep the undersea fleet mission-ready.
Andrew Ring, the museum’s director, said the new display broadens the museum’s mission of preserving submarine history while showing how shipyard workers continue to shape the Navy’s future.
“The ribbon cutting represented far more than the opening of a new exhibit—it celebrated a partnership dedicated to preserving an important part of Hawaii's and our nation's history,” Ring said “We are honored to work alongside Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard to share the stories of the talented workforce whose expertise has sustained the Silent Service for generations. We hope every visitor who walks through this exhibit leaves with a greater appreciation for the extraordinary people behind the scenes whose work makes the Silent Service possible.”
Shauna Tonkin, a member of the museum board of directors and the education and scholarship chairperson, said the exhibit also will support student learning in history, engineering and maritime careers.
“Through our partnership with Honolulu Community College, we are supporting an annual scholarship for individuals who want to go into industries that support naval shipbuilding and ship maintenance, and so [the shipyard's] support here is really crucial to what we're doing,” Tonkin said.
This commitment to cultivating the future shipyard workforce finds its physical inspiration just down the road from Pearl Harbor. Located at 11 Arizona Memorial Drive in Honolulu, the Pacific Fleet Submarine Museum sits adjacent to the Pearl Harbor National Memorial.
PHNSY & IMF’s mission is to keep the Navy’s fleet “Fit to Fight" by repairing, maintaining, and modernizing the Navy's fast-attack submarines and surface ships. Strategically located in the heart of the Pacific, it is the most comprehensive fleet repair and maintenance facility between the U.S. West Coast and the Far East.