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March 2012 www.marinelink.com 41razano Bridge, the Bayonne facility has no aerial draft restrictions and is suitedfor both commercial and government vessels. The facility?s graving dock meas- ures 1092 x 148 ft., with a dock floor loadcapacity of 99,000 tons. The focus is on larger ships, and the company counts, among others, the Military Sealift Com-mand as a valuable customer. In Brooklyn the GMD Shipyard Corp. is located within the Brooklyn Navy Yard and is the largest dry dock facility in New York City. GMD offers two 1090 x 150 ft. graving docks, in addition to 1100 ft. of wet berth, and provides 24-hour full service operational capabilities. The dockyard maintains and operates numer- ous cranes ranging from 15 tons mobileto 200 tons gantry. The facility is outfitted with all the equipment and services nec-essary to produce and perform any type of maintenance or repair, including grit blasting, ultra high-pressure water blast- ing, painting and steel fabrication. The focus in Brooklyn is smaller ves- sels: ATB?s, Utility workboats, & Ocean Going Barges, for example, with most of the business from commercial operators, coastal trade and vessels you see in and around New York City. ?We think the formula we have between the two yards works: they are separate work forces, but we utilize some of the same management people at both yards de-pending on the project going on at the time. Between the two yards we bal- ance the workload out so that it stays busy,? said Cranston. In early February, U.S. Shipping?s 29- year-old chemical carrier M/V Charleston entered Bayonne Drydock fora regulatory dry docking, inspection and special survey. ?U.S. Shipping is a very good client; they run a good operation,? said Cranston. ?The Charleston is in forall routine maintenance, piping work, blasting and coating, all regulatory and rudder inspections, some steel replace-ment in the tanks, ballast tank coating re-pairs, as well as some davit work, as it was hit by one of its own lifeboats down in Houston.? The 48,075 dwt M/V Charleston was built in 1983 by Avon- dale, and measures 635 x 106 ft., able tocarry 57,029 cu. m. of cargo. ChallengesChallenges found at his shipyards are not unlike those found anywhere around the country, or for that matter, the world: Labor. ?Attracting and maintaining qual- ified people is and remains the biggest challenge,? said Cranston. To keep the labor pipeline flowing, the company con- ducts several in-house training programs. ?We have a training program, in house, for crane operators, electricians, for rig-gers and mechanics ? basically all of thetrades,? said Cranston. ?It?s on the job training, as they come in as a helper and work their way up. Depending on the trade it takes two to five years for them to become a journeyman.? ?The key to our success is basically as it is in any business: you bring in the right people, you treat them fairly, you expect a day?s work for a day?s pay; they have to understand the expectations; you give your managers responsibility and ac-countability; and you judge them on theresults.? Simply operating a ship repair in theU.S. today is an inherent challenge in it-self. ?You know, it?s a major undertaking to operate a shipyard in the U.S. today. The environmental rules are continually changing, and that?s a very big challenge, and you have to do it so that it is cost ef- fective for your customer,? said Cranston. ?There are a lot of regulations on what you do and how you operate ? painting, blasting, disposal of material, training ofpersonnel, and making sure they are trained and outfitted for the area of the ship they are working.? ?We have full-time, on-site health, safety and environmental staff whose job is to ensure that we stay safe, efficient and in compliance. We have also invested close to a million dollars in the ultra highpressure water washing system (instead of sand blasting), mobile equipment thatwill be used for both Bayonne andBrooklyn. In a business which can be no- toriously cut throat in terms of pricing, intimes good and bad, Cranston maintainsthat above all good communications is key to thriving for the long haul. ?If a competitor of mine has an open space, hecan sometimes bid lower that I can. But you have to stay balanced between the two; you have to stay focused on your price point and what you can offer the customer, and sometimes you have to ex- plain that sometimes pricing isn?t every- thing. If I can give you your vessel back two or three days early, how much is that vessel working worth to you, as opposed to saving a little money using someone else and taking a few extra days.? (Photo: Greg Trauthwein) Bayonne Dry Dock & Repair Corp. Military Ocean Terminal Dock Yard Bayonne, New Jersey Email: [email protected] Dry Dock & Repair Corp. operates a full serv-ice ship repair yard located in the Port Jersey area ofNew York/New Jersey harbor. Situated a few miles from the Verrazano Bridge, the Bayonne facility has no aerial draft restrictions and is suited for both commercial andgovernment vessels. The facility?s graving dock meas- ures 1092 x 148 ft., with a dock floor load capacity of99,000 tons. Bayonne Dry Dock Facilities:Graving Docks: . . . . . . . . . . . .(1) - 1092' x 148' x 35' . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(333m x 45m x 11m) Wet Berth . . . . . . . . . . . . .1600' x 35' (488m x 11m) Cranes . . . . . . . . . .(1) - 65 ton capacity gantry crane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(1) - 40 ton capacity gantry crane . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(1) - 40 ton hydraulic mobile craneBayonne Dry Dock Services:Electrical: . . . . . . .2,300 volt AC/440 60 cy 3 phase Fresh Water: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .125 psi Firemain:(1) - electrical pump--1,800 GPM at 150 PSI . . . . . . . . . .(1) - diesel pump-1,800 GPM at 150 PSI . . .(1) - back-up diesel pump 1,800 GPM at 150 PSISewage: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Hookup to city sewer Full Service Shops: . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Carpenter Shop Electrical ShopMachine ShopPiping ShopPlate ShopRigging ShopSandblasting and Paint ShopTailshaft Shop GMD Shipyard Corp.Brooklyn Navy Yard, Building 595 Brooklyn, New York 11205 Email: [email protected] Shipyard Corp. is located within the BrooklynNavy Yard and is the largest dry dock facility in New York City. GMD offers two 1090 x 150 ft. graving docks, in addition to 1100 ft. of wet berth, and provides 24-hour full service operational capabilities. The dockyard main- tains and operates numerous cranes ranging from 15 tonsmobile to 200 tons gantry. The facility is outfitted with all the equipment and services necessary to produce andperform any type of maintenance or repair, including grit blasting, ultra high-pressure water blasting, painting andsteel fabrication. GMD Facilities:Graving Docks: . . . . . . . . . . .(2) - 1092' x 150' x 36' . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(333m x 46m x 11m) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(1) - 280' X 66' (85m x 20m)Wet Berth: . . . . . . . . . . . .1080' x 116' (330m x 35m) Cranes: . . . . . . . . .(1) - 200 ton capacity gantry crane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(2) - 75 ton capacity gantry crane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(1) - 25 ton capacity gantry crane . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(1) - 40 ton hydraulic mobile crane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(2) - 20 ton capacity gantry crane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(1) - 15 ton capacity gantry craneGMD Services:Electrical: . . . . . . .2,300 volt AC/440 60 cy 3 phase Fresh Water: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .125 psi Steam: . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(1) - portable boiler 200/100 Air: . . . . . . . .Compressor/house out-put 1,000 CFM Firemain:(1) - electrical pump-1,800 GPM at 150 PSI . . . . . . . . . .(1)- diesel pump-1,800 GPM at 150 PSI . . .(1) ? back-up diesel pump-1,800 GPM at 150 PSIFull Service Shops: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Carpenter Shop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Electrical Shop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Machine Shop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Piping Shop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Plate Shop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Rigging Shop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Sandblasting and Paint Shop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Tailshaft Shop The Shipyards Bayonne Dry Dock & Repair Corp.GMD Shipyard Corp. One QuestionWhat Technology has had the greatest impact on the efficiency and profitability of your business? ?The proliferation of Computer Aided Drawings in ship repair and communications. Back in the 1980s, you ba-sically had a fax machine and that was it. We could not start building out the dock until we had the docking plan, and after the ship showed up in the port, it had to wait around for two days in order for the dock to be built. Today, when the ship is coming, the ship can email to you the docking plan and you?re ready for it, saving many days in preparation. If there?s a grounding, we can receive underwater video, an invaluable tool that lets you do a lot, from building the dock to ordering material. Com- paring the same repair from 15 years ago to today, you can easily save five or six days, if not more.? Michael Cranston, President, Bayonne Dry Dock & Repair & GMD Shipyard MR March 12 # 5 (33-40):MR Template 3/6/2012 9:13 AM Page 41