The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration (MARAD) on Jan. 20 announced the availability of nearly $20 million in federal funding to help modernize small U.S. shipyards and train the workforce. MARAD’s Small Shipyard Grant Program, the agency said in a statement, strengthens the economic competitiveness of shipyards by providing grants that can be used to purchase equipment or provide employee training. In addition, the grants can support the purchase of American-made manufacturing equipment that support a wide range of jobs, the Maritime Administration said. The grants are available to U.S. shipyards with fewer than 1,200 production employees. Since the grant program was first funded in 2008, it has awarded 323 grants totaling about $282 million, according to the Department of Transportation. In July 2022, DOT announced $19.6 million in…
Small shipyards along the West Coast may be able to upgrade their facilities and provide workforce training, thanks to $20 million of federal fiscal year 2023 funding made available by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration (MARAD). Announced Jan. 19, MARAD’s Small Shipyard Grant Program offers grants that could go toward training employees or buying new equipment, including U.S.-made manufacturing equipment. “Small shipyards play vital roles in their local economies and our national economy,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said. “With these funds, we are helping small shipyards across the country train their workers, modernize their equipment and improve their operations.” Since 2008, 323 grants totaling about $282 million have been awarded through the Small Shipyard Grant Program, according to MARAD. U.S. shipyards with fewer than 1,200 production employees…
Seaspan Shipyards, Canada’s long-term, shipbuilding partner for large non-combat vessels under Canada’s National Shipbuilding Strategy, and the Canadian Coast Guard on Nov. 25 reached an important milestone in the construction of the Offshore Oceanographic Science Vessel (OOSV). The OOSV is expected to be delivered in 2025 and would be able to respond to the Government of Canada’s oceanographic scientific research requirements for the next 30 years. Over the next three years, more than 700 Seaspan employees and hundreds more in the company’s cross-Canada supply chain are expected to work on the 88-meter-long (288.7-foot) vessel. The Offshore Oceanographic Science Vessel (OOSV) will be Canada’s most modern science research ship. It can accommodate up to 34 crew and 26 scientists. The vessel is to be outfitted with specialized equipment that includes several…
Three more Matson Inc. containerships are expected to be built within the next five years, after the Honolulu-based shipping company announced Nov. 2 that its subsidiary, Matson Navigation has inked agreements with Philly Shipyard Inc. for construction of a trio of 3,600-TEU Aloha Class container vessels for ships for about $1 billion. Philly Shipyard is East Coast builder that constructed Matson’s two other 854-foot Aloha Class vessels, which came into service in 2018 and 2019. Philly Shipyard also built four Jones Act containerships for Matson between 2003 and 2006, the company said. “Our existing Aloha Class ships are among the fastest, most efficient vessels in the Matson fleet,” company Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Matt Cox said. “These new Jones Act compliant vessels will be built specifically for our China-Long…
On July 21, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration (MARAD) announced $19.6 million in grant awards to 24 small shipyards in 19 states through the Small Shipyard Grant Program, with more than a fifth of the funding going to six West Coast operations. The funds are expected to help awardees modernize, increase productivity and expand local employment opportunities to better compete in the global marketplace. “Small businesses are the lifeblood of the American economy, and small shipyards play a critical role in America’s maritime industry, helping us get the goods we depend on every day,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in a statement. “These grants will help modernize small shipyards in communities across the country, creating and protecting local jobs, strengthening America’s maritime industry and securing our economic…
Whether it’s a ferry carrying passengers to work in the Bay Area or a U.S. Navy vessel supporting military missions in the Pacific, chances are that the vessel was designed, built and/or repaired by a West Coast shipyard. Up and down the coast, there’s a bevy of craftspeople working on a number of major projects for public and private sector clients such as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the U.S. Navy, Crowley Maritime, Foss Maritime and the cruise industry. Here’s a look at the projects being worked on by a handful of West Coast companies. AL LARSON BOAT SHOP The longtime shipyard based in San Pedro Bay has been hard at work on major repair projects up and down the West Coast, Al Larson Boat Shop President Jack Wall…
The famous Greek historian Herodotus is credited with saying, “The only good is knowledge, and the only evil is ignorance.” Surely, Herodotus was talking to the working commercial fisherman about the importance of shipyard dock talk. The comings and goings of notable boats, repowers and refits (and regrets), dredging delays, infrastructure grants won, and the like is not idle trivia. One-part gossip, four parts pertinent business information, shipyard dock talk is still the best way for professional mariners to maintain the pulse of the scene. It’s in the spirit of spreading useful dock talk that the following information from some of the West Coast’s most active yards is offered. The topline is that yards have been bustling over the last year, tackling projects as varied as restoring classic wood seiners…
Foss Maritime has permanently closed its shipyard on Seattle’s Lake Washington Ship Canal. The closure, announced in late October, resulted in 115 layoffs. Foss paid the salaries, benefits and average overtime to the impacted employees through the remainder of 2021, the company said. Sustained losses at the 11-acre shipyard and potential future pension liabilities influenced the company’s decision to close the facility, Foss spokesman Mark Grantor told Maritime Publishing. “Our exit from the shipyard business is consistent with our strategic focus on providing core maritime transportation services and exploring new opportunities in emerging markets,” Grantor said in an email. Further examples of that strategic focus, he said, include the company’s sale of its California tank barge business earlier this year to Seattle-based Centerline Logistics and its entry into the offshore…
On Oct. 30, Foss Maritime permanently closed its Seattle shipyard, located in the city’s North Queen Anne neighborhood. The company said the decision was a difficult one that was made after years of working to improve the viability of the shipyard, and was based on Foss Maritime’s regular review of its business lines. Foss said the closure of the shipyard does not impact the company’s other areas of operation. “While the closure of the Seattle shipyard is a strategic decision for the future of Foss, it is not a decision we have taken lightly,” Foss Maritime President Will Roberts said in a statement. “We have employees and families who have been with us for decades; our priority is assisting them in this transition.” Although operations have stopped, employees at the…
BAE Systems has received a $90.2 million contract from the U.S. Navy for the maintenance and modernization of the amphibious transport dock USS San Diego (LPD 22) at the company’s San Diego shipyard. The value of the contract could reach $104.8 million if all options are exercised, according to the Navy. Under the docking selected restricted availability (DSRA) contract, BAE Systems will drydock the 684-foot-long ship, perform work on the underwater hull, repair its system of ballast tanks, preserve its amphibious well deck area, and refurbish the living quarters for the as many as 800 sailors and Marines that can be carried aboard. The work is expected to begin at the San Diego shipyard in September and take more than a year to complete. “The upcoming USS San Diego project…
