Delays in the construction of Zumwalt destroyers at Bath Iron Works could potentially affect the shipyard’s ability to cinch competitive contracts with the U.S. Coast Guard and Navy, according to a recent article published by the U.S. Naval Institute news.

In the report, news service editor Sam LaGrone said two Arleigh Burke destroyers have been delayed for several months at the yard due to work on the Zumwalt; the Rafael Peralta (DDG-115) has been delayed seven months, while the Thomas Hudner (DDG-116) has been pushed back by five.

LaGrone said the bottleneck in Arleigh Burke production may affect the shipyard’s ability to procure future work, including a $10 billion contract with the Coast Guard’s Offshore Patrol Cutter program.

Although BIW beat out Mississippi-based shipyard Huntington Ingalls Industries in 2011 when it offered a $679 million per-hull bid to HII’s $697 million, LaGrone said the Pascagoula shipyard caught up quickly.

After two years, HII was awarded a $6 billion shipbuilding deal for five Burke destroyers, as BIW’s price-per-hull had increased by $30 million.

“There’s nothing new there, nothing’s changed,” Jay Wadleigh, BIW’s Local S6 union president, said in response to the article.

He also responded to claims made by LaGrone, who said a shortage of electricians at the yard was also contributing to the delay.

Wadleigh said BIW has been “hiring constant,” with on and off electrician openings.

“It’s not a shortage — they just went back to hiring,” he added. “There’s a steady slow trickle in and they’ve been beefing the numbers.”

As of Wednesday, there were about 50 electrician job openings on the General Dynamics’ Bath Iron Works page.

Wadleigh also added that hiring more electricians would not necessarily provide a solution to the issue at hand.

“You can’t just go out and hire electricians. There’s such a learning curve in the first two or three years,” he said.

When asked about the article, BIW spokesman Matt Wickenheiser declined to comment.