Marine Group Wins 27 Vessel Contract

By Mark Edward Nero

San Diego-based Marine Group Boat Works, a family-owned boatbuilding and repair company with three yards in Chula Vista, National City and Baja California, was recently awarded three Navy contracts to build five small, powerful steel tugboats; six large steel workboats; and 16 aluminum 60-foot dive boats, for a total of 27 new vessels with a value of over $45 million.

In a fourth separate Navy contract, Marine Group is to dismantle and dispose of two 224-foot Avenger-class Mine Counter Measure ships built in the mid-1980s – USS Avenger and USS Defender – in accordance with state and federal environmental regulations, recycling parts where possible.

The shipyard said that work will begin immediately on all the recently awarded contracts and that the combined period of performance takes its workload and order books well into 2020.

“Our vision was to bring custom boatbuilding back to California where we have trained a new generation of craftsmen,” Marine Group President Todd Roberts said.

Marine Group booked the contracts after the Navy conducted a nationwide call for competitive bids from qualified shipyards with fewer than 500 employees for proven design concepts that would fulfill the Navy’s new fleet missions’ requirements.

The company says its facilities and proximity to various San Diego-area naval bases was also a factor in gaining the contracts.

“Our team has perfected our craft and has become good at what we do. We have a long history with boats of all shapes and sizes. We operate them; repair them; build them. We see problems with them. We see beauty in them. That 360-degree perspective is just how we evaluate and approach our work now,” Roberts said.

“With internal forecasts and data from our past construction of vessels, building these boats will add about 25 jobs and pay out about $22 million to subcontractors and material suppliers,” Roberts said.

For Chula Vista, National City and the region where Marine Group is located, these new construction contracts are expected to lead to about 68 jobs and $58.5 million spent in the regional economy.

Boatbuilding, Repair Company Awarded $22 Million in Contracts

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.