The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration (MARAD) announced $8.75 million in grant awards to more than a dozen small shipyards through the Small Shipyard Grant Program on Thursday.
The funds will help 15 small shipyards across 12 states modernize, increase productivity, and expand local job opportunities, according to a news release from the U.S. DOT. The following shipyards are named to receive grant money for the following projects:
- Birdon America Inc. Alabama Shipyard LLC, of Bayou La Batre, Alabama, will receive $997,065 to support the purchase of an automated welding system.
- Gulf Marine Repair, of Tampa, Florida, services government, commercial and noncommercial vessels in the South Florida region. They will receive $997,678 for their Dry-Dock Strengthening Project of the A.W. Hendry dry dock to increase lift capacity and serviceability.
- Marisco Ltd., of Honolulu, will receive $584,563 to purchase an electric air compressor and plasma cutter.
- James Marine Inc., of Paducah, Kentucky, on the upper Mississippi River, will receive $460,500 to support the purchase of a 40-ton rough-terrain crane.
- C&C Marine and Repair LLC, of Belle Chasse, Louisiana, which has been successfully operating for more than 55 years in the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, will receive $514,263 to purchase a Messer CNC Plasma Cutting Table.
- Cooper Consolidated LLC, Convent-Mile 164 Shipyard, of Convent, Louisiana, will receive $368,440 to purchase a Bobcat track loader, four welding machines, a 9,000-pound-capacity telehandler and a backhoe tractor.
- The General Ship Repair Corporation, of Baltimore, Maryland, is one of the largest commercial shipyards in the state of Maryland. They will receive $364,311 to support the purchase of a blast and paint shelter, ultra-high-pressure water-blasting unit, a mist/dry-blast unit and air dryer.
- Gulfship Apprenticeship LLC, of Gulfport, Mississippi, is a manufacturing facility and small shipyard. They will receive $4,547 to procure a CNC machine to teach students and assist the shipyard.
- WCT Marine & Construction Inc., of Astoria, Oregon, will receive $874,297 to purchase a 450-ton hydraulic self-propelled vessel transporter.
- Philly Shipyard Inc., of Philadelphia, will receive $800,000 to support their shipyard apprentice program.
- Rhoads Industries Inc., of Philadelphia, will receive $552,846 to support the expansion of their standard welding training program by adding modern mechanized welding systems.
- Safe Harbor Marine Newport Shipyard LLC, of Newport, Rhode Island, repairs vessels from government to commercial clients, including passenger ferries, fishing vessels and marine towing vessels. They will receive $647,567 to purchase a 180-ton hydraulic self-propelled vessel transporter.
- Lighthouse Marine LLC, of Port Bolivar, Texas, on the Mississippi River, is set to receive $646,157 for a JLG Hybrid Telescopic Boom Lift, Grove 65-ton Rough Terrain Crane, welding machine, plasma cutter, as well as airless paint pump blasting and painting equipment upgrades.
- Inventech Marine Solutions LLC, of Bremerton, Washington, is a production facility located 8.5 miles from the Puget Sound via the Port Orchard marina. They will receive $378,079 to purchase an electric clean paint booth with blast and spray booths and two 10-ton and two 5-ton overhead bridge cranes.
- Motive Power Marine, of Tacoma, Washington, will receive $559,687 to support the acquisition of site electrical upgrades, an electric air compressor and a 12,000-pound-capacity telehandler.
“Small shipyards are integral to the strength of America’s supply chains and the maritime industry” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg in the release. “With the grants announced today, the Biden-Harris Administration is delivering funding that will create jobs in cities and towns across the country, strengthen our commercial fleet, and add power to our national economy.”
The news release notes that since 2008, MARAD’s Small Shipyard Grant program has awarded $311.7 million in 365 grants to nearly 200 shipyards in 33 states and territories throughout the U.S.
“Continued investment in our small shipyards enables them to acquire the cutting-edge technologies needed to remain competitive elements of America’s maritime industry,” said Maritime Administrator Ann Phillips in the release. “These grants stimulate economic development by boosting opportunities for good jobs in the communities where shipyards are located.”