MarAd Small Shipyard Grants Total $20 Million

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration (MarAd) on July 24 announced awards of more than $20 million in grants to support capital improvements at 29 U.S. small shipyards as a part of its Small Shipyard Grant program.

Among the 29 are five yards that serve the inland waterways. The five, along with the grant amount and purpose, are:

• National Maintenance & Repair Inc., Hartford, Ill.—$217,538 to support the purchase of a plasma cutting system;

• James Marine Inc. dba Walker Boat Yard, Paducah, Ky.—$1,125,000 to support the purchase of an 80-ton rough terrain crane;

• Bollinger Shipyards Lockport LLC, Lockport, La.— $521,753 to support the purchase of a lathe mill multi-task machine and a Python X Robotics CNC plasma cutting structural fabrication system;

• SCF Services Inc., St. Louis, Mo.—$489,917 in support of the purchase of a 110-ton crawler crane and employee skills training; and

• Glendale Boat Works Inc., Channelview, Texas—$1,064,654 to support the purchase of a 400-ton marine travelift.

MarAd’s Small Shipyard grant funding supports capital improvements that foster increased efficiency and economic growth.

“These grants are an investment in our country’s small shipyards and will help create good jobs for America’s workers,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao.

America’s shipyards support more than 400,000 jobs and contribute more than $37 billion in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to the nation’s economy, MarAd said in an announcement of the grants.

To be eligible for Small Shipyard Grant awards, shipyards must have fewer than 1,200 production employees.

“By supporting small shipyards, we are investing in the maritime infrastructure of the country,” said Maritime Administrator Mark H. Buzby.

Since 2008, MarAd’s Small Shipyard Grant Program has awarded more than $183 million to more than 180 small shipyards. These grants help fund upgrades and expansions,  allowing the yards to compete more effectively in a rapidly changing global marketplace. By providing the capital that will let shipyards increase their repair and production footprints, these grants are helping to create more jobs throughout the country, MarAd said.

According to the Small Shipyard Grant Coalition, this series of awards marks at least two firsts: the first Small Shipyard Grants awarded to a shipyard in North Carolina, and the first to a yard in South Florida.

The other 24 grant recipients are listed below:

• Catalyst Marine Engineering Inc., Seward, Alaska—$400,097 to support the purchase of a Mach 500 water jet cutting system;

• Master Boat Builders Inc., in Bayou la Batre, Ala.—$1,332,607 to support the purchase of a 182-ton capacity crawler, 55-ton mobile crane and a 30-ton rough terrain crane;

• Marine Group Boat Works LLC, Chula Vista, Calif.—$392,037 to support the purchase of a CNC plasma table, 125-foot boom lift and a 33,000-pound forklift;

• Patti Marine Enterprise Inc., Pensacola, Fla.—$449,231 to support the purchase of a plasma cutting machine and iron worker;

• Glasstech Corporation, Miami, Fla.—$715,688 to support the purchase of a 165-ton marine travelift and a 65-ton vessel transporter;

• Pacific Shipyards International, Honolulu, Hawaii—$731,159 in support of the purchase of a spray paint sandblast booth, hydraulic press with tooling, universal valve tester package with console and tooling, and four base plate mounted jibs;

• Gravois Aluminum Boats LLC in Jeanerette, La.—$451,860 to support the purchase of an 80-ton rough terrain crane and welding equipment;

• Chesapeake Shipbuilding Corporation, Salisbury, Md.—$492,047 to support the purchase of four extending boom forklifts, a mobile crane and construction of larger mobile launching ways;

• Washburn & Doughty Associates Inc., West Boothbay, Maine—$618,750 to support the purchase of robotic welding machines and a CNC lathe;

• Front Street Shipyard, Belfast, Maine—$667,028 to support the purchase of a water jet cutting machine;

• North Shore Marine Terminal & Logistics Inc., Escanaba, Mich.—$713,468 in support of the modernization, safety and uptime improvements of material cutting and handling equipment;

• United States Marine Inc., Gulfport, Miss.—$313,270 in support of the establishment of a lamination apprentice program and the purchase of a CNC core cutting machine and paint booth;

• Jarrett Bay Boatworks, Inc. in Beaufort, N.C.—$1 million to support the purchase of a 300-ton marine travelift;

• Bayonne Drydock & Repair Corporation, Bayonne, N.J.— $1,081,950 in support of the purchase of a CNC plasma table, brake press, plate roll, welding machines, iron worker, graving dock upgrades and hydroblast equipment;

• Dorchester Shipyard Inc., Dorchester, N.J.—$232,585 in support of the purchase of two electric air compressor systems and electrical upgrades in the shipyard;

• Ironhead Marine Inc., Toledo, Ohio—$768,500 to support the purchase of a 150-ton off-road crane;

• Sause Bros. Inc. dba Southern Oregon Marine Inc., Coos Bay, Ore.—$642,329 in support of the purchase of a mobile rough terrain crane, air compressors and a self-contained fabricated paint management system;

• Metal Trades Inc., Hollywood, S.C.—$520,167 to support the purchase of a kinetic heavy duty cutting and drilling machine;

• Gulf Copper Dry Dock & Rig Repair, Galveston, Texas—$1,296,820 to support the construction of a 4,500-ton drydock;

• Marine Hydraulics International Inc., Norfolk, Va.— $505,617 to support to the purchase of 10 forklifts;

• Snow & Company Inc., Seattle, Wash.—$67,511 to support the purchase of a Scotchman iron worker, Preston Eastin two-axis weld positioner, engraving machine and four new welding machines;

• Ice Floe LLC dba Nichols Brother Boat Builders, Freeland, Wash.—$1,312,500 to support the purchase of a 250-ton lattice boom crawler crane;

• Fincantieri Marine Group LLC dba Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding, Sturgeon Bay, Wis.—$1,401,061 in support of the purchase and installation of four 50-ton overhead cranes; and

• Fraser Shipyard Inc., Superior, Wis.; $500,738 to support the purchase of two self-propelled modular transporters and a high capacity forklift.

The coalition notes that funding for the 2019 Small Shipyard Grants program is proceeding through Congress. Legislation currently in conference will guarantee a longer lead time for yards to prepare grant proposals, the coalition said.