Shipbuilding and repair company Marine Group Boat Works,
located on the Port of San Diego waterfront, has been awarded two contracts
totaling $22 million for boat repair and refurbishment.
Marine Group successfully competed for two separate
contracts to fully refurbish commuter ferries from the San Francisco Bay area:
the 97-foot Bay Breeze, owned by the Water Emergency Transportation
Authority, and the 180-foot M.S. San Francisco, owned by the
Golden Gate Bridge Highway and Transportation District.
Both vessels were transported to Marine Group’s Chula Vista,
California facility in October and docked for refurbishment.
“We’re privileged to be in a port city that has good weather
year-round, existing infrastructure and an extensive marine services and
supplies network to be able to compete with other port cities nationwide,” Marine
Group Boat Works Vice President Todd Roberts said.
The Bay Breeze ferry is receiving a new
conventional propeller system, a brand-new interior and systems upgrades, among
other refurbishments and a new paint scheme.
The M.S. San Francisco was built in San
Diego and delivered in 1977 to the Bay Area for service. After 36 years of
transporting passengers, the vessel is receiving all new components: machinery,
replacements and upgrades to electrical and auxiliary systems and a new
interior and paint job.
The two new projects are expected to create about 50 new
jobs in the area, according to Marine Group, which represents a workforce
increase for the company of about 45 percent.
