Page 46: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (November 2026)

SHIPBUILDING

With three shipbuilding facilities, 1,300 employees and a diversi? ed orderbook extending into the next decade,

Eastern Shipbuilding Group (ESG) is well positioned to bene? t from renewed investment in America's maritime industrial base. CEO Joey D'Isernia discusses the company's growth, its commercial and government contracts, and why workforce development and fundamental changes in shipbuilding practices are essential to a sustainable industry revival.

By Greg Trauthwein merican shipbuilding has received more at-

Fifty Years of Investment tention from Washington in the past two

Eastern's facilities include its Allanton shipyard, en- years than it has in the past few decades compassing approximately 300 acres, of which 160 are combined. The Trump administration has developed; the 50-acre Nelson Street facility; and its

A made rebuilding the nation's maritime in-

Port St. Joe yard. Each serves a distinct role in the com- dustrial base a political imperative, driven by national se- pany's operations, and each offers opportunities for fu- curity concerns, China's dominance of global shipbuilding ture expansion.

and the need to expand and modernize the U.S. ? eet: navy,

Over the years, Eastern has invested in larger launch ways government ships and commercial.

and basins, additional crane capacity, fabrication facilities

For shipbuilders, the renewed attention is welcome, but and other infrastructure improvements that have increased turning that political narrative into shipbuilding contracts, the size and complexity of vessels it can construct.

infrastructure improvements and a larger skilled workforce

As a privately held business, D'Isernia said Eastern has will take considerably longer.

considerable ? exibility to reinvest earnings in facilities,

But Joey D'Isernia, CEO of Eastern Shipbuilding Group equipment and employees without the pressures that can (ESG), sees substantial opportunity in the renewed empha- accompany public ownership.

sis on maritime manufacturing. As the company celebrates

Today, however, the investment priorities are changing.

its 50th anniversary, he remains focused on the practical

Rather than concentrating primarily on building larger considerations of operating a shipyard: selecting the right vessels or increasing physical capacity, Eastern is empha- projects, investing in people and equipment, managing sizing productivity improvements that allow its existing production and delivering vessels.

workforce to accomplish more. This includes additional "There's a lot of really positive things that are out there," covered fabrication space, process improvements and prac-

D'Isernia said of the federal initiatives. But much of the pro- tical applications of automation.

posed legislation and announced funding is still moving "We're heavily investing in covered fabrication area through the system. "It's not going to have an overnight effect." in levels of automation that are realistic for the U.S.

Eastern, founded in 1976 and now led by the second shipbuilding industry," D'Isernia said. He cautions that generation of the D'Isernia family, operates three facilities technologies developed for large Asian shipyards do not across two counties in Northwest Florida. The privately necessarily translate directly to American commercial and held company employs approximately 1,300 people and government shipbuilding, where vessel designs, produc- serves commercial and government customers.

tion volumes and customer requirements are substantial-

D'Isernia describes Eastern as one of a relatively small ly different.

number of remaining mid-tier American shipbuilders,

Eastern's approach is to invest in technologies that can with the engineering capability and physical infrastructure improve ef? ciency without introducing unnecessary risk to handle a broad range of sophisticated vessel construc- or creating new production problems.

tion projects.

46 Maritime Reporter & Engineering News • November 2026

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