Report: California 5th Biggest Shipbuilding State in US

California ranks fifth in shipbuilding and repair among US states, while Washington is ranked in the top 10, according to a new report.

The report, compiled by the US Maritime Administration, states that California has 7.6 percent of the country’s shipbuilding market, behind Virginia with 24.9 percent, Louisiana with 12.1 percent, Mississippi at 9.4 percent and Connecticut with 8.3 percent.

California employs 8,100 dockworkers in shipbuilding and ship repair, accounting for $777 million in gross domestic product, according to the report.

Washington state ranks ninth on the list with 3.3 percent of the shipbuilding market, according to the MARAD data.

Currently there are 117 shipyards spread across 26 US states that are classified as active shipbuilders. In addition, there are over 200 shipyards engaged in ship repairs or capable of building ships but not actively engaged in shipbuilding, according to MARAD. The majority of shipyards are located in the coastal states, but there are also active shipyards on major inland waterways such as the Great Lakes, the Mississippi River, and the Ohio River.

Employment in shipbuilding and repairing is concentrated in a relatively small number of coastal states, with the top five states accounting for 62 percent of all private employment in the shipbuilding and repairing industry.

The nation’s shipyards support $36 billion in gross domestic product, the report says. It also notes that although most shipbuilders are located in coastal areas, the direct and indirect economic benefits reach all 50 states.

For example, in 2011 the nation’s more than 300 shipyards directly provided more than 107,000 jobs, $7.9 billion in labor income to the national economy and contributed $9.8 billion in gross domestic product.

The average income for these industry jobs is $73,000, 45 percent higher than the national average, according to the report.

From 2010 to 2012, deliveries of vessels of all types -- including tugs and towboats, passenger vessels, commercial and fishing vessels, and oceangoing and inland barges -- exceeded 1,200 vessels per year, reaching 1,457 vessels in 2011.

The report, titled The Economic Importance of the U.S. Shipbuilding and Repairing Industry, can be seen at http://www.marad.dot.gov/documents/MARAD_Econ_Study_Final_Report_2013.pdf.

 

 

Anchorage Port Design Seriously Flawed, Engineers Say

Three of four new sections built at the Port of Anchorage were not constructed correctly, and due to shifting land, could fail during an earthquake, a federally commissioned study has found.

The danger comes mainly from a foundation system called Open Cell Sheet Pile, or OCSP, where instead of building a traditional dock on piling, interlocking sheets of steel are hammered into the sea floor to form U-shaped cells, which are then backfilled with dirt and gravel.

“The suitability study determined that the OCSP system is not adequately designed to meet global stability and seismic displacements based on the design criteria,” the report states. “The study also concludes that the open cell system is adequately designed to meet initial internal stability structural design requirements, assuming it was constructed without defects. However, at the end of 50 years, it will be slightly over‐stressed due to corrosion and will not meet safety standards.”

The $2.2 million sustainability study was conducted by engineering firm CH2M Hill on behalf of the US Maritime Administration and the US Army Corps of Engineers. The Corps requested the study be conducted after it assumed control of the Port of Anchorage expansion project from MARAD on May 31.

The expansion, which has been in the works for more than a decade, was originally estimated to cost $360 million, and was supposed to be complete by 2011. Instead, cost estimates have jumped to more than $1 billion and continue to climb. A completion date is at least a decade away, according to port estimates.

Small Shipyard Grants Awarded

The US Dept. of Transportation has announced nearly $10 million in grants to 15 small shipyards throughout the United States, including four on the West Coast, to pay for modernizations that increase productivity and help small shipyards compete in the global marketplace.

The funds were allocated as part of the US Maritime Administration’s Small Shipyard Grants Program. The grants fund a variety of projects, including infrastructure improvements and equipment modernization to increase the efficiency, competitive operations and quality of vessel construction in US shipyards.

“These small shipyard grants reflect the … commitment to strengthening our transportation systems and creating an economy that’s built to last,” Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said in announcing the grants.

Of the $9.98 million issued, almost $2 million was allocated to West Coast shipyards. The West Coast grantees are:

• Seattle-based Kvichak Marine Industries, which says it will use a $987,307 grant to buy a water-jet cutting table to cut and bevel ferrous and non-ferrous plates; a hydraulic swing beam shear for accurate cutting in place of skill saws; and welding equipment. The grant will also fund a boatbuilding skills training program.
• Foss Maritime Co.’s Seattle Shipyard, which received $578,402 to buy two 45-foot manlifts; a dust collection system to allow the yard to blast and paint without contaminating the atmosphere; a three-ton forklift; and shelters for additional work overflow.
• Honolulu-based Navatek Ship Construction, whose $248,805 grant goes toward buying wind turbines and towers to provide clean renewable electrical service to the shipyard.
• Sitka, Alaska-based Allen Marine, which says it will use its $163,500 grant to buy a welding fume and particulate extraction system it needs to meet Occupational Safety and Health Administration requirements for its aluminum welding operations.

“They will provide new tools and equipment to help maritime businesses sustain and create good American jobs through increased productivity and efficiency,” US Maritime Administrator David Matsuda said of the grants in a news release. “These federal investments will fund shipyard essentials.”