The Zumwalt (DDG-1000) destroyer will be undergoing another set of sea trials later this month.

The “builder’s trials” are expected to last just over 48 hours, and is one of two official tests required by the Navy, according to an internal communication release obtained by The Times Record.

While at sea, Bath Iron Works will validate the operational performance of the ship to SUPSHIP Bath.

“We’re trying to prove the platform, with a heavy emphasis on propulsion, mobility and safety at sea systems,” Steve Colfer, BIW director of Test and Trials, said in the release.

Lt. Cmdr. Hayley Sims, a Navy spokeswoman, confirmed that the trials would begin on March 21. She also spoke about the recent repairs that were carried out on the vessel.

“DDG 1000 completed work in the weeks following initial trials. The ship’s hull was cut above the waterline to enable the most effective means of conducting repair work on one of 12 propulsion motor drives,” Sims said in an email. “The overall impact to the propulsion system was minor and has been corrected. The ship is progressing well and is on track path to complete trials and delivery later this spring.”

A delivery date of April is expected for the destroyer, whose home port will be San Diego, Califonia.

In the next series of tests, called the “acceptance trials,” the Navy’s Board of Inspection and Survey (INSURV) will conduct a dockside and at-sea inspection to determine whether the vessel’s delivery will be accepted by the government.

Inspections began last week with BIW test technicians, and the ship will undergo mock INSURV trials prior to and during the builder’s trials, the release said.

About 235 BIW and Navy personnel will be involved in this month’s trials, according to the release.

In December, the vessel had departed the shipyard for a series of tests that would demonstrate the ship’s major hull, mechanical and electrical systems.

“The alpha trials were a true benefit to reduce the risk on the ship as we are addressing some key issues now, prior to builder’s and acceptance trials,” Colfer said.

The ship had also undergone a series of “fast cruises” in the fall.

Two other ships in the Zumwalt-class destroyer program are also in the process of being built at the Bath shipyard. As of January, the Michael Monsoor (DDG 1001) was 84 percent complete, while the Lyndon B. Johnson (DDG 1002) was 43 percent complete.

BIW spokesman Matt Wickenheiser declined to comment on the trials. Leaders at BIW’s Local S6 union did not return calls.

• BATH IRON WORKS is preparing to submit its bid for a contract to build Coast Guard cutters. The deadline is Tuesday for bids from the Maine shipyard and two competitors — Bollinger Shipyards in Louisiana and Eastern Shipbuilding in Florida — for a contract that could be worth up to $10 billion. See story on page A3.