SHIPYARDS
The 285 ft offshore support vessel Nicki Candies on Bollinger Fourchon’s new 10,500-ton lift capacity dry dock
SHIPYARDS BULK UP U.S. shipyards expand, add new dry docks
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mall and midsize shipyards along the U.S. Gulf and West Coasts are in a bullish mood, adding new dry docks and expanding their operations and waterfront property to meet the increased workload and demand for new shipbuilding and ship repair projects. A key factor has been the growth in the Jones Act fleet, particularly the influx of new, larger Offshore Support Vessels, Construction Vessels and IMR vessels to support deepwater drilling activity in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. One of the smaller shipyards looking to grow is privately held Hendry Corporation. The Tampa-based ship repairer was the beneficiary of a Small Shipyard Grant from the U.S. Maritime Administration that enabled the shipyard to add a new 2,500-ton lift capacity floating dry dock. “The grant was really huge for us,” says Hendry Corporation Vice President Joe Cimono. “Historically, a large part of our business is generated by repairing U.S. Coast Guard vessels, 87 ft and 110 ft patrol boats. The new dry dock will enable us to expand our business.” Hendry’s existing dry dock was a World War II vintage AFDL, which had been used in the South Pacific to service 263 vessels. Hendry Corp. acquired the dry dock in the early 1970s. “It really handcuffed us in the size of vessels that we could handle,” says Cimino. “So, in 2011, we applied for a Small Shipyard Grant. After receiving the grant, Cimino says Hendry started construction of the dry dock in 2013. Additionally, Hendry had to build a catch basin to contain all of the residue and paint from repair and water blasting operations.
by John R. Snyder, Publisher & Editor-in-Chief
“We spent about a year going through the environmental audit and getting permits from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers,” he says. The new 2,500-ton-capacity dry dock is named the Capt. F.M. Hendry, and measures 250 ft long by 72 ft wide. Ironically, a ship from the Maritime Administration’s National Ready Reserve Fleet—Texas A&M University’s training vessel General Rudder—will be the first vessel serviced on the dry dock on February 15. The training vessel is in for a $2 million overhaul. An improving economy will also be a factor in generating repair work. Cimono says, “With the economy picking up, owners are performing repairs that they had put off.” Besides the addition of the new dry dock, Hendry plans to expand into light fabrication work and construct barges up to 200 to 300 feet in length.
Ship repair services expand in Pascagoula Houston-based Signet Maritime Corporation, which has a fleet of tugs, push boats and ocean deck barges, also operates a full service shipyard in Pascagoula, MS. It is investing $7.2 million in infrastructure improvements at the shipyard, Signet Shipbuilding & Repair (SS&R), to support an increased workload and growth. As part of its infrastructure improvements, SS&R has added a 150-ton crawler crane, and is performing dredging, renewing its 1,000-foot waterfront bulkhead, adding a new fabrication shop, expanding its dry dock and concrete base for vessel repairs, and improving its sand blasting and painting area. With a new tractor tug under construction and numerous repair February 2014 MARINE LOG 23