MARAD Names FY2018 Small Shipyard Grant Recipients
On Tuesday, the U.S. Maritime Administration announced the recipients of the Small Shipyard Grant Program funds appropriated by Congress earlier this year. The awards, which range from $200,000 to $1.4 million for the FY2018 round, go towards capital improvements for yards with less than 1,200 employees.
Since 2008, MARAD’s Small Shipyard Grant Program has awarded over $180 million to more than 180 small yards. This year's MARAD budget included $20 million for the grant program, twice as much as in FY2017. The awards are intended to boost small American shipbuilders' efficiency and competitiveness in the global marketplace.
“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 L. Chao in a statement.
This year, the recipients span the full range of American shipbuilding and ship repair enterprises, from welding/fabrication shops to towboat builders to major defense contractors. Highlights include $1.4 million for Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding, the builder of one of the two Littoral Combat Ship variants, and $450,000 for Gravois Aluminum Boats, the parent company of the rapidly-expanding boatbuilder Metal Shark.
The full list of awards follows below:
- Catalyst Marine Engineering in Seward, AK was awarded $400,097 to support the purchase of a Mach 500 water jet cutting system.
- Master Boat Builders in Bayou La Batre, AL was awarded $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 in Chula Vista, CA was awarded $392,037 to support the purchase of a CNC plasma table, 125-foot boom lift and a 33,000-pound forklift.
- Patti Marine Enterprise in Pensacola, FL was awarded $449,231 to support the purchase of a plasma cutting machine and iron worker.
- Glasstech Corp. in Miami, FL was awarded $715,688 to support the purchase of a 165-ton marine travelift and a 65-ton vessel transporter.
- Pacific Shipyards International in Honolulu, HI was awarded $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.
- National Maintenance and Repair in Hartford, IL was awarded $217,538 to support the purchase of a plasma cutting system.
- Walker Boat Yard of Paducah, KY was awarded $1,125,000 to support the purchase of an 80-ton rough terrain crane.
- Gravois Aluminum Boats (Metal Shark) in Jeanerette, LA was awarded $451,860 to support the purchase of an 80-ton rough terrain crane and welding equipment.
- Bollinger Shipyards in Lockport, LA was awarded $521,753 to support the purchase of a lathe mill multi-task machine and a Python X Robotics CNC plasma cutting structural fabrication system.
- Chesapeake Shipbuilding Corp. of Salisbury, MD was awarded $492,047 to support the purchase of four extending boom forklifts, a mobile crane and construction of larger mobile launching ways.
- Washburn & Doughty Associates in West Boothbay, ME was awarded $618,750 to support the purchase of robotic welding machines and a CNC lathe.
- Front Street Shipyard in Belfast, ME was awarded $667,028 to support the purchase of a water jet cutting machine.
- North Shore Marine Terminal & Logistics in Escanaba, MI was awarded $713,468 in support of the modernization, safety and uptime improvements of material cutting and handling equipment.
- SCF Services in St. Louis, MO was awarded $489,917 in support of the purchase of a 110-ton crawler crane and employee skills training.
- United States Marine in Gulfport, MS was awarded $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 in Beaufort, NC was awarded $1,000,000 to support the purchase of a 300-ton marine travelift.
- Bayonne Drydock and Repair Corp. in Bayonne, NJ was awarded $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 in Dorchester, NJ was awarded $232,585 in support of the purchase of two electric air compressor systems and electrical upgrades in the shipyard.
- Ironhead Marine in Toledo, OH was awarded $768,500 to support the purchase of a 150-ton off-road crane.
- Sause Bros. subsidiary Southern Oregon Marine in Coos Bay, OR was awarded $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 in Hollywood, SC was awarded $520,167 to support the purchase of a kinetic heavy duty cutting and drilling machine.
- Gulf Copper Dry Dock & Rig Repair in Galveston, TX was awarded $1,296,820 to support the construction of a 4,500-ton dry dock.
- Glendale Boat Works in Channelview, TX was awarded $1,064,654 to support the purchase of a 400-ton marine travelift.
- Marine Hydraulics International in Norfolk, VA was awarded $505,617 to support to the purchase of ten forklifts.
- Snow and Company in Seattle, WA was awarded $67,511 to support the purchase of a Scotchman iron worker, Preston Eastin two-axis weld positioner, engraving machine and four new welding machines.
- Nichols Brothers Boat Builders in Freeland, WA was awarded $1,312,500 to support the purchase of a 250-ton lattice boom crawler crane.
- Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding in Sturgeon Bay, WI was awarded $1,401,061 in support of the purchase and installation of four 50-ton overhead cranes.
- Fraser Shipyard, Inc. in Superior, WI was awarded $500,738 to support the purchase of two self-propelled modular transporters and a high capacity forklift.