Page 51: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (November 2026)

BAYONNE DRY DOCK think it's been ? ve FRCs (Fast Response Cutters) with the Federal Investment Meets Shipyard Reality

Coast Guard," said Magas. For Magas, the Coast Guard BDD recently received a $673,123 grant through work demonstrates how the yard has established itself in a MARAD's Small Shipyard Grant Program to modernize its market that did not previously exist at Bayonne. surface preparation equipment and expand workforce train- "We've earned that opportunity, proven ourselves," he ing. Combined with the company's own investment, the said. The mobile hauler also provides a practical bene? t to funding will support an integrated robotic ultra-high-pres- regional vessel operators. Instead of traveling considerable sure hydroblasting system, an additional surface preparation distances for scheduled maintenance or emergency repairs, unit and associated equipment. The objective is to improve tugs, barges and other workboats can be serviced within coating removal and surface preparation productivity while the Port of New York and New Jersey. That reduces tran- reducing downtime and vessel turnaround periods. "This sit time and allows operators to return vessels to revenue vital federal investment allows us to modernize our surface- service sooner. preparation infrastructure with state-of-the-art robotic tech-

While the mobile hauler has increased BDD's through- nology," Woerner said when the award was announced.

put, management believes another asset deserves greater The grant follows earlier MARAD support, including recognition: its available waterfront. The shipyard has ap- $1.08 million awarded in 2018 for graving dock and weld- proximately 1,600 feet of wet berthing capacity, including ing equipment improvements and $730,477 in 2023 for a continuous 1,200-ft. section capable of accommodating hydroblasting equipment and telehandlers. Still, Woerner vessels drawing up to 32 feet. Woerner said this allows offered a measured assessment of the broader effort to revi-

BDD to perform substantial portions of a vessel's overhaul talize American shipbuilding and repair. before it enters the graving dock. The process is particu- Asked whether the national maritime revitalization larly valuable when multiple MSC or MARAD vessels are agenda has translated into substantial new investment for scheduled consecutively. BDD, he identi? ed the Small Shipyard Grant Program as

While one vessel occupies the dock, another can be the yard's principal federal funding source. "At the federal berthed alongside, where regulatory inspections, familiar- level at this time, the only funding signal for our shipyard ization and topside maintenance begin. has been the MARAD small shipyard grant."

When the ? rst vessel departs for sea trials, the second At the state level, BDD has established a workforce de- can move into the dock after the blocking arrangement velopment partnership supported by New Jersey funding is prepared. The incoming vessel therefore arrives with and is working with Hudson County Community College.

considerable work already completed. "Regulatory has The company has used that initiative to acquire equip- already been on board. Our people have already gotten ment and support employee training.

familiar with the orientation of the vessel and they've For medium-sized shipyards, the experience illustrates begun all of the topside work. So you're not starting the distance between national industrial policy ambitions from zero." and the resources reaching individual repair facilities.

The arrangement cannot eliminate work requiring dry dock access, but it can reduce the time a vessel occupies The Workforce Starts on the Waterfront that increasingly scarce infrastructure. Workforce shortages remain a persistent concern through- "It's a running start," Magas summarized. President out American shipbuilding and repair, but BDD's execu-

Kevin Sullivan emphasized that early inspections also help tives describe employee retention as one of their strengths. identify work requirements before docking. For govern- Woerner said the company has developed employees who ment customers managing aging vessels and limited main- began in entry-level positions and advanced into supervisory tenance availability, those ef? ciencies have implications and project management roles.

beyond the shipyard's bottom line. "Many of our employees initially began their journey "We're in a moment now where ef? ciency is critical and here in entry level roles, both on the trade side and the having these vessels being active and in their ready reserve administrative side, and have kind of grown with the status is critical," Sullivan said. "We want to minimize the company." Sullivan is a particularly direct example. "I amount of time they're at our facility, especially when we started at the company 30 years ago at the entry level," have project overlap." In practical terms, BDD is using its said Sullivan. "I attribute much of my success to my waterfront to increase the productive capacity of its exist- mentor, former BDD president Mike Cranston." That ing graving dock without building another one. progression re? ects a management philosophy that em- www.marinelink.com 51

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