Page 18: of Marine News Magazine (September 2026)

17 19

PATRICK

KELLY, CEO,

FRASER

SHIPYARD

Watch the full video interview with Patrick Kelly,

CEO, Fraser Shipyards, on

Maritime Reporter TV: force, electricity and natural gas infrastructure. confronting U.S. shipbuilding. Sustained industrial ca-

The vision is not simply to expand Fraser using conven- pacity cannot easily be switched on and off according tional U.S. shipbuilding methods. Rather, Kelly sees the to individual government programs. A healthier ship- opportunity to leapfrog existing manufacturing practices building industrial base arguably requires steady demand by incorporating next-generation shipyard technology al- across commercial and defense markets, spreading infra- ready being developed and deployed overseas. structure, workforce and supply-chain investment across

HD Hyundai’s work with Siemens on advanced ship- a broader portfolio.

yard technology factors prominently into that strategy. Fraser already has a foot in both camps.

“What we are now able to say to prospective lenders, Over the next 12 to 24 months, Kelly sees the potential investors, grant money around the country is we partnered for a 100,000-sq.-ft. expansion facility, followed by a larger with some of the best technology providers in the world, if production center for Navy vessels, all at the existing Supe- not the best,” said Kelly. rior location. Longer term, he sees opportunities to expand

The goal, he said, is to create a new production foot- beyond Superior to other Great Lakes locations as demand print around current best practices rather than incremen- develops. For a 138-year-old shipyard, that’s a decidedly tally modernizing yesterday’s yard. forward-looking agenda.

“We’re leapfrogging technologies already deployed,”

Kelly said. “If we’re trying to out-compete the Chinese, Niigaan Enaazhek: Built for the Great Lakes next technology, next generation technology will get us If the HD Hyundai relationship illustrates where Fraser there. Fraser’s just part of the solution, but if we can be a wants to go, the recently delivered MV Niigaan Enaazhek demonstration facility, bring it on.” demonstrates what its workforce can already accomplish.

Importantly, Fraser doesn’t envision expansion as exclu- Built for the Beausoleil First Nation, the double-ended sively commercial or military. roll-on/roll-off ferry provides year-round transportation be-

Kelly sees both. That mirrors the broader challenge tween Christian Island and Cedar Point, Ontario. Designed 18 | MN September 2026