West Coast Shipyards Awarded MARAD Grants

Shipyards in Alaska, California and Washington will receive grants from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration, the agency announced Monday.

They are among a total of 31 U.S. shipyards to score a sum of $19.6 million in grants to be used to upgrade facilities, raise productivity and expand local jobs.

The recipients include:

• JAG Alaska Inc. Seward Shipyard, which netted $639,712 for a 100-ton grove hydraulic crane;
• Bay City Marine of National City, California, which received $738,990 toward a new mobile crane;
• Alameda, California-based Bay Ship & Yacht, Co., which garnered $759,419 to buy a mobile crane, welding equipment, and electric boom lifts;
• Seattle-based Lake Union Drydock Co., which garnered $684,127 to help build a new drydock basin passageway and the acquisition of an additional air compressor, air dryer and large capacity forklift;
• Seattle-based Pacific Fishermen Shipyard and Electric, LLC, which received $556,308 for rail enhancement, lift dock conversions, and paint area upgrades, and;
• Chula Vista, California-based Marine Group Boat Works LLC, which netted $524,058 for air compressors and to start an in-house welder training program;
• BRIX Marine of Port Angeles, Washington, which received $342,318 for a CNC router table and support equipment;
• Everett Ship Repair LLC, which was awarded $731,385 to use toward a new drydocks containment system, water blasting equipment and air compressors;
• Seattle-based Stabbert Marine & Industrial, LLC, which netted $228,745 to buy an eight-ton heavy-duty forklift, articulated boom lift, welding equipment and other equipment.

“Small businesses are the backbone of the American economy, and small shipyards play a critical role in America’s maritime industry,” U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg said in a statement. “These grants go directly to small shipyards across the country and will help protect and create local jobs, strengthen America’s maritime industry, and bolster our economic security.”

Since 2008, almost 300 shipyards across the U.S. have been given $262.5 million thanks to MARAD’s Small Shipyard Grant Program.