The Portsmouth Naval Shipyard painter/needle-gunner that was charged in July with setting a fire at the shipyard doing over $400 million damage to the nuclear submarine Miami, pleaded guilty in court this morning.

The man, 24-year-old Casey James Fury admitted to setting fire to the submarine in the afternoon of May 23rd in order to leave work early. Fury started the fire in a small compartment with rags. The fire was initially blamed on a vacuum cleaner. But, after an NCIS investigation, the authorities focussed on Fury. He had been working at the shipyard during the May fire and another fire that occurred on June 16th.

It was during a polygraph test that Fury first admitted to setting a smaller, second fire on June 16th outside the submarine. When he admitted to that fire, he said he had been texting his girlfriend, and had an upsetting conversation with her when he made the decision to start the blaze. That fire did not cause any significant damage.

Five people were injured during the 12 hour effort to put out the blaze as over 100 firefighters fought to save the submarine at the shipyard. The fire spread quickly through the forward compartments.

Fury pleaded guilty after a plea agreement, that was not made public, was reached. That guilty plea can imprison him on the two counts of Arson for 15 to 20 years. Without the plea agreement, Fury could have faced life imprisonment.

A news conference by U.S. Attorney Thomas Delahanty II is scheduled for noon eastern time.

The navy intends to repair the damaged vessel and have it return to sea by 2015. The damage to the submarine was so extensive, for a time it was considered to damaged to repair and scrapping the vessel was considered.