WorkBoat Weekly

About WorkBoat Weekly

The WorkBoat Weekly news brief is an audio rundown of the top commercial marine stories selected by the WorkBoat editorial team, from newbuilds and regulatory shifts to emerging vessel tech and the people shaping the industry. New episodes every week at workboat.com.

Publisher

WorkBoat

Category

business · news

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

10 Jun 2026

Latest episode

30 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

19 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   30 Oct 2026

   WORKBOAT WEEKLY — Ep. 19 — New ferry for Sapelo Island, TOTE picks a Landing Ship builder and SAFE Boats wins $36.4M

   You're listening to the WorkBoat Weekly. Your quick hit on the stories shaping the commercial marine industry. Here's what's making news this week. We start with a lifeline ferry for a Georgia barrier island. The Georgia Department of Natural Resources has contracted Derecktor Shipyards to build a 70-foot catamaran ferry for Sapelo Island. Construction is scheduled to begin before the end of the year at Derecktor's Dania Beach, Florida, yard. The ferry will carry up to 150 passengers between the mainland and the island. It will move residents, researchers, and visitors, along with cargo, building materials, and scientific equipment. It becomes the island's primary ferry, and the existing state vessel stays on as a reserve. Island manager Fred Hay says it's about much more than transport. The ferry brings babies home for the first time, and it's the way off the island when a tropical storm approaches. Chartwell Marine of the U.K. designed the boat, drawing on its offshore wind experience, with a focus on lower lifecycle costs and less maintenance downtime. It's Chartwell's first commercial ferry design in the U.S., and the first commercial ferry for the Dania Beach yard. Contract value and delivery date were not disclosed. Read the full story at workboat.com. Next, a new class of Navy and Marine Corps ships has picked its first builder. TOTE Services has selected Hanwha Philly Shipyard in Philadelphia to build the first Medium Landing Ship. It's a 269 million dollar award for one vessel, with options for three more. Construction is scheduled to begin in the fourth quarter of 2027. The ship is designed to move Marines, vehicles, equipment, and supplies between shore locations in island environments. The first is expected to be delivered in 2030. TOTE says the yard was chosen on price and its acceptance of the subcontract terms. TOTE president Jeff Dixon says the award shows how fast its construction management model can move from request for proposals to contract. The award falls under TOTE's contract for the Navy's planned 35-ship fleet. TOTE is still in talks with Bollinger Shipyards and Fincantieri Marinette Marine, the other yards expected to take part. The Philadelphia yard has already built four National Security Multi-Mission Vessels under TOTE's management. Read the full story at workboat.com. Before our final story, a quick word about Pacific Marine Expo. If you work on the West Coast, Pacific Marine Expo is the show you can't miss. This year, Expo heads to the Seattle Convention Center's Arch Building on November 19th. Join fishermen, vessel operators, engineers, port officials under one roof. Register now at pacificmarineexpo.com. We close with patrol boats headed to partner nations in the Caribbean and South America. SAFE Boats International of Bremerton, Washington, has been awarded a five-year agreement worth up to 36.4 million dollars. It will supply patrol boats for U.S. Southern Command foreign military sales programs. The agreement covers up to 28 of the company's aluminum patrol boats, along with spare parts, training, and field service support. The boats have a newly developed cabin configuration. Production is scheduled to begin in 2027. The first boats go to the Dominican Republic, Dominica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, and Suriname. They're intended for coastal patrol, law enforcement, and counternarcotics work. The award comes as SAFE Boats marks its 30th anniversary. The company is 100 percent employee-owned and has delivered nearly 3,000 vessels to military, law enforcement, and fire and rescue customers. Read the full story at workboat.com. That's the WorkBoat Weekly. For full coverage on all of today's stories, visit workboat.com/workboat-weekly. Find us on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Search WorkBoat Weekly.

2. 

   23 Oct 2026

   WORKBOAT WEEKLY — Ep. 18 — HD Hyundai and Kiewit plan a Texas yard, Wildcat to buy Fraser and the 2026 Significant Boats

   You're listening to the WorkBoat Weekly. Your quick hit on the stories shaping the commercial marine industry. Here's what's making news this week. We start with another South Korean shipbuilder planting a flag in the United States. HD Hyundai and American construction firm Kiewit plan to form a joint venture to build a new shipyard in Ingleside, Texas. The yard would target naval auxiliary and commercial vessels, along with ship blocks and modules for other United States shipbuilders. Construction is targeted to begin in 2027, with full operations in 2029. At full scale, the yard could support up to 3,000 jobs. The partners say it will combine Hyundai's shipbuilding technology with Kiewit's large-scale fabrication experience. It would be the first United States use of Hyundai's Future of Shipyard model. That means digital twins, automated production, and robotic welding. The announcement follows a partnership agreement the two companies signed in July. It also comes as the administration pushes to revitalize U.S. shipbuilding, with South Korean companies playing a key role. Read the full story at workboat.com. Now to the Great Lakes, where a Miami-based firm is making a 350 million dollar bet on a historic shipyard. Wildcat Defense has signed an exclusive agreement to acquire Fraser Industries, the Superior, Wisconsin parent company of Fraser Shipyards. The shipyard dates to 1888 and does repair and overhaul work for Great Lakes vessels. It also builds vessels for commercial and military customers. Terms were not disclosed, and the deal is expected to close in about three months. Wildcat plans to invest 350 million dollars to expand the yard's workforce and manufacturing footprint. Fraser's CEO and management team are expected to stay. The head of Wildcat Equity Partners says modernizing United States shipyards should be done by United States firms. He says Wildcat intends to use Fraser as a model for investing in other U.S. yards. The deal follows Wildcat's earlier offer for Austal USA. Fraser also keeps its partnership to compete for the Coast Guard's planned light icebreaker program. Read the full story at workboat.com. Before our final story, a quick word about the International WorkBoat Show. The International WorkBoat Show returns to New Orleans this December 2nd through 4th at the Morial Convention Center. Join thousands of industry professionals to network, check out the latest equipment, and learn from top industry experts. Learn more and register today at workboatshow.com. We close with WorkBoat's own list of the vessels that stood out this year. WorkBoat has named its 10 Significant Boats of 2026. The honorees span dredging, offshore, towing, pilotage, passenger service, and research. A subsea rock installation vessel, a hopper dredger, a pilot boat, and a tug are all on the list. So which one will be named Boat of the Year? That announcement comes at the International WorkBoat Show in New Orleans on December 2nd. To read the full selections, go to workboat.com. That's the WorkBoat Weekly. For full coverage on all of today's stories, visit workboat.com/workboat-weekly. Find us on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Search WorkBoat Weekly.

3. 

   19 Oct 2026

   WORKBOAT WEEKLY — Ep. 17 — Matson christens Makua, Fincantieri gets $9.6M and LNG drives tug demand

   You're listening to the WorkBoat Weekly. Your quick hit on the stories shaping the commercial marine industry. Here's what's making news this week. We start in Philadelphia, where Matson has christened the first of three new Jones Act containerships. The 850-foot Makua was christened last Saturday at Hanwha Philly Shipyard. The three-ship series represents an investment of about 1 billion dollars. Makua is scheduled for delivery in the first quarter of 2027. The second and third ships follow in 2027 and 2028. All three are dual-fuel and will be delivered LNG-ready. The first two Aloha-class ships were converted to LNG about five years after they were built. The new ships will replace three vessels now serving Matson's Hawaii and China-Long Beach Express routes. Matson's CEO says building them in the U.S. supports hundreds of shipyard jobs. He also says each ship will provide more than 2,500 job opportunities for American mariners over its lifespan. The Philadelphia yard also built those first two Aloha-class ships. They entered service in 2018 and 2019 as the largest containerships ever built in the U.S. Read the full story at workboat.com. Next, federal money for a Wisconsin shipbuilder. Fincantieri Marine Group is moving forward with nearly 10 million dollars in federal funding for its Wisconsin shipyards. Most of it comes from the Navy's Shipbuilding Capability Industrial Base program. A smaller piece is a Maritime Administration Small Shipyard Grant. The money will add cutting, forming, welding, and automation capabilities. The goal is to improve production efficiency and support work on the Navy's Landing Ship Medium program and other projects. It also extends a worker benefit through 2027. The company pays employees a tax-free 5,000 dollars a year to help cover child care and elder care. Earlier Navy funding is building a welding lab at the company's Marinette yard. It will bring more welder training and recertification in-house. Read the full story at workboat.com. Before our final story, a quick word about Pacific Marine Expo. If you work on the West Coast, Pacific Marine Expo is the show you can't miss. This year, Expo heads to the Seattle Convention Center's Arch Building on November 19th. Join fishermen, vessel operators, engineers, port officials under one roof. Register now at pacificmarineexpo.com. We close with a look at the tug market. Behind every big ship movement is a tug, and builders and operators say demand is strong. WorkBoat's Frank McCormack reports that LNG is a major driver. As export terminals ramp up on the Gulf Coast, LNG carriers need powerful, highly maneuverable tugs for escort and docking. In some cases, tug availability may even be part of a terminal's permit application. That's already turning into steel. C and C Marine and Repair in Belle Chasse, Louisiana, is building eight tugs for Harbor Docking and Towing. Four of them will serve Woodside Energy's Louisiana LNG terminal. They're the yard's first diesel-electric escort tugs. Ship size is the other driver. Maritime Partners says tugs built 20 or 30 years ago can't match modern boats on power, maneuverability, or fuel efficiency. Moran Towing has added 22 vessels since 2021 to keep pace. Some owners are choosing to repower instead. Shaver Transportation says a new ship-assist tug runs about 20 million dollars. New drives and engines on an older boat can cost around 5 million. One concern runs through the industry, and that's the Jones Act waiver. Operators say the longer it continues, the more uncertain new investment becomes. Read the full story at workboat.com. That's the WorkBoat Weekly. For full coverage on all of today's stories, visit workboat.com/workboat-weekly. Find us on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Search WorkBoat Weekly.

4. 

   8 Oct 2026

   WORKBOAT WEEKLY — Ep. 16 — Anduril’s $3.7B submarine yard, pilot boats built for each region and TOTE’s missile tracking ships

   You're listening to the WorkBoat Weekly. Your quick hit on the stories shaping the commercial marine industry. Here's what's making news this week. We start with a new shipyard aimed at one of the Navy's biggest bottlenecks. Anduril Industries plans to invest 3.7 billion dollars in a shipyard at Sparrows Point, Maryland. It will build components and large assemblies for the Virginia-class submarine program. The Navy has already awarded the company a production contract for submarine components. The site is the former Bethlehem Steel property near Baltimore. Anduril calls the new yard Arsenal Two, and expects operations to begin in 2030. It will supply General Dynamics Electric Boat and Newport News Shipbuilding, part of Huntington Ingalls Industries. Those yards keep final assembly, testing, and delivery. Anduril starts with torpedo tubes, then moves to bow and stern sections shipped by water. Anduril calls it a software-defined shipyard. Chris Brose, the company's president and chief strategy officer, says it is not getting into this to build submarines the same way they have been built for decades. Read the full story at workboat.com. Next, a look at how geography shapes the boats that carry maritime pilots out to the ships they guide. WorkBoat spoke with builders and operators in three regions. Each one needs something different. In the Northeast, the Sandy Hook Pilots in New York are adding a 36-foot aluminum boat called the Scotland. Snow and Company in Seattle is building it for delivery in October. It will work mostly inside New York Harbor, putting pilots on ships at anchor and at terminals. On the Gulf Coast, Gladding-Hearn is building two 44-foot boats for Delta Launch Services. They will shuttle pilots on the lower Mississippi River, between Venice, Louisiana, and Pilot Town. Peter Duclos of Gladding-Hearn says the river is full of debris, and passing ship wakes make it feel like a big washing machine. Deliveries are expected in early 2027. In Alaska, Southwest Alaska Pilots is getting a 90-foot boat from Bay Weld Boats in Homer. It's built for longer runs in Prince William Sound, with four engines and a gyro stabilizer. It also has heated decks, because Valdez gets about 600 inches of snow a year. Same job. Three very different boats. Read the full story at workboat.com. Before our final story, a quick word about the International WorkBoat Show. The International WorkBoat Show returns to New Orleans this December 2nd through 4th at the Morial Convention Center. Join thousands of industry professionals to network, check out the latest equipment, and learn from top industry experts. Learn more and register today at workboatshow.com. We close with a familiar shipbuilding model, applied to a new mission. TOTE Services has signed a contract with the Maritime Administration to manage construction of the Missile Defense Agency's new Missile Range Instrumentation Vessel program. The first ship goes to Hanwha Philly Shipyard in Philadelphia, with delivery scheduled for 2030. The ships will replace two aging tracking vessels, the Pacific Tracker and the Pacific Collector, which date to the 1960s and 1970s. TOTE manages and operates both today. The new design is based on the National Security Multi-Mission Vessel already under construction at the Philadelphia yard. About 70 percent of it is common with that ship. That means the same production line, supply chain, and workforce, and less construction risk. TOTE Services president Jeff Dixon says the company's construction management model is helping it hit milestones sooner. Read the full story at workboat.com. That's the WorkBoat Weekly. For full coverage on all of today's stories, visit workboat.com/workboat-weekly. Find us on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Search WorkBoat Weekly.

5. 

   2 Oct 2026

   WORKBOAT WEEKLY — Ep. 15 — Saronic's big week, Photon wins $1M award and McAllister buys a Maine wharf

   You're listening to the WorkBoat Weekly. Your quick hit on the stories shaping the commercial marine industry. Here's what's making news this week. We start with a big week for Saronic Technologies. The company broke ground on a new shipyard. It also landed a Navy production order for its unmanned vessels. First, the shipyard. It's called Port Alpha, and it sits at the Port of Brownsville, Texas. More than 3 billion dollars in private investment is behind it. Vice President JD Vance and Texas Governor Greg Abbott attended the groundbreaking. The company expects up to 10,000 direct jobs over the next decade. Early production will include Landing Craft, Utility vessels for the Navy. No opening date has been announced. Then, the Navy order. Saronic will build 10 Medium Unmanned Surface Vessels. They're based on its 180-foot Marauder. The Navy plans to buy 30 in all. Galliano Marine Services and Huntington Ingalls Industries each received agreements for 10 vessels as well. The Navy puts the average cost at about 40 million dollars per vessel. First deliveries are expected before the end of fiscal 2027. The order follows Phase I testing. According to the company, the Marauder ran eight days around the clock through more than 140 scenarios without a failure. Full stories at workboat.com. Next, a real-world test for electric workboats on New York waterways. Photon Marine of Seattle has won a 1 million dollar award. It's the first MegaBoost award from the NSF Energy Storage Engine in Upstate New York. The money funds three pieces that work together. A 24-foot electric workboat. A shoreside fast charger. And a floating battery platform called the ChargeBarge. The platform is built to deliver charging where shore power is not available. Derecktor Shipyards will build it in New York. The project builds on a pilot with the New York Power Authority. Canal crews used an electric workboat for buoy retrieval, dredge pipe towing, and debris removal. Photon plans to collect data on performance, battery condition, and charging. It will then develop guidance for fleet operators weighing electric. The company's CEO says electrification will only scale when operators can see it work in the conditions they face every day. The full demonstration is expected in late 2027 or early 2028. Full story at workboat.com. Before our final story, a quick word about Pacific Marine Expo. If you work on the West Coast, Pacific Marine Expo is the show you can't miss. This year, Expo heads to the Seattle Convention Center's Arch Building on November 19th. Join fishermen, vessel operators, engineers, port officials under one roof. Register now at pacificmarineexpo.com. We close in Portland, Maine. A familiar towing name is putting down roots on the working waterfront. McAllister Towing and Transportation has signed an agreement to buy a wharf in Portland. It's the Portland parcel of Sprague Operating Resources, and it includes the pier and warehouse. The deal is expected to close by year-end. Terms were not disclosed. McAllister already works the harbor through its subsidiary, Portland Tugboat. President Buckley McAllister says the wharf will add storage and expanded services across Maine and the Northeast. The sale splits Sprague's Portland terminal. The upland portion goes to Hearts of Pine for a professional soccer stadium. The pier and warehouse stay in active marine use. Sprague's chairman says the priority was finding a steward who shares a commitment to the working waterfront. McAllister was founded in 1864. Today it runs more than 60 tugs, crew boats and barges. Those operations span 13 ports, from Eastport, Maine to San Juan, Puerto Rico. Full story at workboat.com. That's the WorkBoat Weekly. For full coverage on all of today's stories, visit workboat.com. Find us on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Search WorkBoat Weekly.

6. 

   25 Sept 2026

   WORKBOAT WEEKLY — Ep. 14 — Birdon builds uncrewed vessels, a 27,600-ton shiplift for Newport News and Mary McAllister delivered

   You're listening to the WorkBoat Weekly. Your quick hit on the stories shaping the commercial marine industry. Here's what's making news this week. We start in Belle Chase, Louisiana, where construction has begun on the first tranche of Medium Unmanned Surface Vessels at C and C Marine and Repair. Birdon is the prime contractor, with autonomy software from Mythos AI and shipbuilding by C and C Marine — the same team that delivered the first Ancillary Surface Craft prototype for the Marine Corps in August. C and C president Anthony Siblitch said the yard is targeting one vessel every two months. The Navy selected seven companies in late May to put their vessels through at-sea trials through October. Each company that completes testing successfully receives 15 million dollars and becomes eligible for follow-on production. The reconciliation bill set aside 2.1 billion dollars for the program, with 3.1 billion earmarked over five years for 47 hulls. Birdon is also building a new 400,000-square-foot shipyard at the Port of Pensacola, with operations planned for 2027. Read the full story at workboat.com. Now to a major infrastructure investment on the East Coast. Bardex Corp. has been selected to supply a shiplift for River Port LLC's Newport News, Virginia facility. The OmniLift system will have a maximum lifting capacity of just over 27,600 tons on a 450-foot by 110-foot platform, intended to support ship repair and Navy subassembly module launches. East Coast Repair and Fabrication will operate the facility, working on multiple vessels out of the water simultaneously. The facility will be certified by Naval Sea Systems Command upon completion. Jorge Rivera, CEO of River Port's parent company, said the investment will allow the yard to accommodate larger vessels, run multiple repair availabilities at once, and give customers faster turnaround. Commissioning is expected in September 2028. Read the full story at workboat.com. Before our final story — a quick word about the International WorkBoat Show. The International WorkBoat Show returns to New Orleans this December 2nd through 4th at the Morial Convention Center. Join thousands of industry professionals to network, check out the latest equipment, and learn from top industry experts. Learn more and register today at workboatshow.com. We close in East Boothbay, Maine, where Washburn and Doughty Associates has delivered the Mary McAllister to McAllister Towing, the sixth-tug in a seven-vessel series. The 93-foot, 6,770-horsepower tractor tug will be homeported in Port Everglades, Florida. It is the first in the series with full firefighting capability — a 12,000-gallon-per-minute monitor — giving McAllister flexibility for LNG and other contracts requiring fire protection. Twin Caterpillar Tier 4 engines drive Schottel Z-drives producing 84 metric tons of bollard pull. Marty Costa, McAllister's lead engineer, said the series is built around consistency — same equipment on every boat, making spare parts easy to source. The seventh and final vessel, the Cathy McAllister, is slated for launch in February 2027. Read the full story at workboat.com. That's the WorkBoat Weekly. For full coverage on all of today's stories, visit workboat.com. Find us on Apple Podcasts and Spotify — search WorkBoat Weekly.

7. 

   17 Sept 2026

   WORKBOAT WEEKLY — Ep. 13 — Wildcat bids for Austal, Navy orders LCU 1700s from three yards and Hornbeck CEO on what comes next

   We start with a new twist in an ongoing acquisition story out of Alabama. Miami-based investment firm Wildcat Infrastructure has submitted a nonbinding proposal to acquire Austal USA from its Australian parent company, Austal Limited. The syndicate led by Wildcat proposed an enterprise value of 1.25 billion to 1.35 billion dollars on a cash-free, debt-free basis, subject to a four-week due diligence period. That offer exceeds a competing nonbinding proposal from a South Korean defense company that valued the yard at 1.05 billion to 1.2 billion dollars. The board is now considering both proposals. Neither represents a completed transaction. Wildcat indicated it would operate Austal's U.S. operations as a standalone company, retaining the existing brand. The Alabama yard builds aluminum and steel vessels for the Navy, Coast Guard, and other government customers. Two competing bidders, both nonbinding, one U.S.-based and one South Korean. The board has a decision to make. Read the full story at workboat.com. Now to a major landing craft program that just got a lot more interesting. The Navy has awarded competitive prototype agreements to three Gulf Coast shipyards for a total of seven Landing Craft Utility seventeen hundred vessels. The three yards are Saronic Technologies in Brownsville, Texas, Conrad Shipyard in Orange, Texas, and Master Boat Builders in Coden, Alabama. The total amount obligated was 280.5 million dollars. Funding came from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. By selecting three distinct shipyards the Navy is building a resilient second source of supply for the LCU 1700. William Mahan, performing the duties of assistant secretary of the Navy for research, development, and acquisition, put it plainly: this approach allows the Navy to move at the speed of relevance. Each yard will build two or three prototype craft focused on refining manufacturing plans in support of rapid production. Master Boat Builders will build three vessels with an option for a fourth, with work expected to run through 2029. This marks the first time Master Boat has served as a prime defense shipyard. Garrett Rice, president of Master Boat Builders, called the award a major milestone reflecting 45 years of workforce investment. Read the full story at workboat.com. Before our final story — a quick word about Pacific Marine Expo. If you work on the West Coast, Pacific Marine Expo is the show you can't miss. This year, Expo heads to the Seattle Convention Center's Arch Building on November 19th — join fishermen, vessel operators, engineers, port officials under one roof. Register now at pacificmarineexpo.com. We close with a conversation worth sitting down for. WorkBoat executive editor Eric Haun sat down with Todd Hornbeck, president and CEO of Hornbeck Offshore Services, days after the company completed its all-stock merger with Helix Energy Solutions Group and began trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker HOS. The combined company now operates about 85 vessels across the U.S. Gulf, Latin America, the North Sea, West Africa, and Southeast Asia. Hornbeck was direct about why this deal made sense when it did. Looking out through the windshield, he said; the lines are crossing fast on the macro. Drilling is coming back, and development follows drilling. Subsea construction and well intervention follow development. The period between now and 2030 to 2032, in his view, is going to be a strong market, particularly for what this combined company can now offer. The real synergies are not in overhead reductions. They are in bundling capabilities that no single competitor can match. A plug and abandonment campaign that once required multiple contractors can now be handled entirely within Hornbeck. Supply vessels, multipurpose support vessels, subsea robotics, and intervention tools, all from one company, one contract, one point of contact. On the defense side, the new company combines Hornbeck's vessel fleet with Helix's engineering and...

8. 

   11 Sept 2026

   WORKBOAT WEEKLY — Ep. 12 — Navy rewrites its playbook, a startup shipyard lands its first order and Caterpillar goes electric

   You're listening to the WorkBoat Weekly. Your quick hit on the stories shaping the commercial marine industry. Here's what's making news this week. We start with a significant but underreported shift in how the U.S. Navy buys its ships and boats. Late last year, the Navy began rolling out a new acquisition strategy called the Portfolio Acquisition Executive model. The old system had program managers reporting to multiple stakeholders across the life of a project. The new model puts a single senior executive in charge of each portfolio, with decision authority and contracting approval under one roof. The stated goal is to move from compliance-based bureaucracy to outcome-focused execution. Sam Taylor, acting deputy for one of the new portfolios, put the mission plainly at this year's Multi-Agency Craft Conference in Portsmouth, Virginia. The two happiest days in Navy acquisition, he said, are the day a contract is signed, and the day the craft hits the water. The shared mission is to ruthlessly shrink the timeline between those two days. The Navy rolled out the first portfolio in December focused on robotics and autonomous systems, then added five more in March covering industrial operations, the Marine Corps, maritime programs, strategic systems, and submarines. Portfolio executives now have authority to approve contracts directly, removing layers of review that previously slowed the process. The shift is already showing results in some areas. Jason Marshall with Metal Shark Boats, which builds vessels for multiple government customers, reported that one active bid under the new maritime portfolio is tracking one of the fastest award timelines in his 30 years of industry experience. Other programs are still moving on traditional timelines as the model takes hold. A key question coming out of the conference: the reform asks the Navy to do more, not less. More demonstrations, faster decisions, wider vendor engagement. Structure and capacity, as one industry executive puts it, are two different problems. Whether the PAE model solves both will determine how much the timeline actually shrinks. Read the full story at workboat.com. Now to a story about new beginnings on two fronts at once. New Pacific Industrial, a startup shipbuilder in Vancouver, Washington, has landed its first new construction program. A pair of 122-foot oceangoing tugs for American Marine Corp. of Honolulu. And for American Marine, marking its 50th year in business, these are the first newbuilds in the company's history. The company has previously grown its fleet entirely through acquisition. The tugs were designed by Glosten in Seattle using the firm's CT one twenty line-haul tug concepts, adapted to American Marine's specific requirements. The design emphasis is on range, towing performance, and constructability. Each vessel draws 17 feet in operating condition, carries 130,000 gallons of usable fuel, and is projected to achieve more than 85 metric tons of bollard pull. Twin Wabtec marine diesel producing roughly 6,000 combined horsepower will turn 120-inch stainless steel propellers in Nautican nozzles. Markey Machine is supplying the towing winch system. New Pacific will build the vessels at its Columbia River waterfront shipyard. The site was part of the World War II-era Kaiser Shipyards complex and now houses more than 180,000 square feet of covered space. The yard offers heavy-lift crane capacity, high-bay fabrication areas, and both rail and barge access. Delivery of the lead boat is scheduled for the third quarter of 2028. New Pacific's CEO put the company's philosophy simply. Complex projects need experienced people, capable infrastructure, and an operating model that works for the customer. Starting with a newbuild program alongside American Marine and Glosten puts that model into practice from day one. Read the full story at workboat.com. Before our final story — a quick word about the International WorkBoat Show. The International WorkBoat Show r...

9. 

   3 Sept 2026

   WORKBOAT WEEKLY — Ep. 11 — Helix and Hornbeck merge, Trump nominates Navy secretary and robots enter the shipyard

   You're listening to the WorkBoat Weekly. Your quick hit on the stories shaping the commercial marine industry. Here's what's making news this week. We start with a major consolidation in the offshore services sector. Helix Energy Solutions Group shareholders have approved the proposals needed to complete the company's all-stock combination with Hornbeck Offshore Services. The deal, which was expected to close September 1, creates a new integrated offshore services company that will trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the Hornbeck name and the ticker symbol HOS. Under the terms of the deal, Hornbeck securityholders will own roughly 55 percent of the combined company and Helix shareholders roughly 45 percent. Hornbeck's Todd Hornbeck will serve as president and CEO. The board will have seven members, four from Hornbeck and three from Helix, with William Transier serving as chairman. Dual headquarters will be maintained in Covington, Louisiana, and Houston. The combination joins Helix's well intervention assets and subsea robotics work with Hornbeck's offshore support vessel fleet and subsea trenching operations. The companies have projected 75 million dollars or more in annual revenue and cost synergies within three years of closing, from integrated service offerings, fleet optimization, and reduced reliance on third-party vessel charters. Owen Kratz called it a combination that establishes an integrated offshore services company with enhanced scale and expanded capabilities across deepwater energy, defense, and renewables. Todd Hornbeck described the shareholder's vote as an important milestone in bringing together two industry leaders. Read the full story at workboat.com. Now to a significant development in naval leadership that has direct implications for U.S. shipbuilding. President Trump announced on September 1 that he will nominate acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao to permanently lead the Department of the Navy. The acting secretary has served in the role since April 22, overseeing the Navy and Marine Corps after previously serving as under secretary. The nomination requires Senate confirmation. Trump urged the Senate to move quickly, calling him a true warrior and asking for a fast confirmation. Shipbuilding has been a defining focus of the acting secretary's tenure. In May, the Navy released its fiscal year 2027 Shipbuilding Plan, calling for expanded fleet capacity, increased shipyard and workforce capacity, and a stronger maritime industrial base. The administration's fiscal year 2027 budget request includes 65.8 billion for Navy shipbuilding. In June, Cao also appointed a senior adviser for shipbuilding who will be focused on industrial base revitalization and acquisition reform. A 1996 Naval Academy graduate, Cao served as a Navy diver and explosive ordnance disposal officer with deployments to Iraq, Afghanistan, and Somalia, retiring from active duty as a captain in 2021. Before joining the Department of the Navy, he worked in electronic warfare, counter-drone systems, and shipyard infrastructure optimization for a defense firm. If confirmed, Cao would continue leading the department as the Navy works to expand production, workforce, and industrial base capacity. Read the full story at workboat.com. Before our final story — a quick word about Pacific Marine Expo. If you work on the West Coast, Pacific Marine Expo is the show you can't miss. This year, PME heads to the Seattle Convention Center's Arch Building on November 19th — join fishermen, vessel operators, engineers, and port officials under one roof. Register now at pacificmarineexpo.com. We close with a story that goes to the heart of one of shipbuilding's most persistent problems and the technology that may finally be ready to address it. U.S. shipyards will need 200,000 to 250,000 additional workers over the next decade in critical occupations like welding, soldering, and front-line management. The American Welding Society projects a nationwide shor...

10. 

    28 Aug 2026

    WORKBOAT WEEKLY — Ep. 10 — Marine Corps gets its landing craft, $665M for ferries & Master Boat Builders launches Defiant

    You're listening to the WorkBoat Weekly. Your quick hit on the stories shaping the commercial marine industry. Here's what's making news this week. We start with a milestone in Marine Corps amphibious operations that has been years in the making. The Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory has completed technical acceptance of the first Ancillary Surface Craft prototype — a roll-on/roll-off landing craft built by Birdon America and C&C Marine and Repair in Louisiana. Technical acceptance means the vessel has met all engineering, contractual, and performance specs and is cleared to enter a testing and experimentation phase. The craft is 150 feet long, draws less than five feet of water, and can beach bow-first on unimproved, shallow, and unsurveyed shorelines. It carries up to 46 tons of cargo and 40 combat-loaded Marines while delivering what the Corps calls the last tactical mile — moving people, equipment, and fuel from ship to shore without relying on ports, piers, or causeways. It includes a fuel transfer system for vessel-to-vessel and vessel-to-shore operations, and a forward-looking sonar to navigate uncharted shallows and read beach gradients. The Marine Corps awarded the prototype contract to Birdon America in 2024. The partnership arrangement with C&C Marine allowed the Corps to work with a nontraditional shipbuilder and shorten the timeline from concept to a delivered vessel. Birdon designed it to be built in under 12 months. The craft is designed as a complement to the larger Medium Landing Ship — which transports forces between islands — while the shallow-draft landing craft carries sustainment into sites the larger ship cannot reach. Together, the Marine Corps said, the two give a stand-in force a path from an intermediate staging base all the way to the beach. Read the Full story at workboat.com. Now to a major federal investment in ferry infrastructure that touches nearly every corner of the country. The U.S. Department of Transportation has awarded nearly 665 million dollars for 23 ferry projects across 14 states and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The funding comes through three Federal Transit Administration programs covering new vessel construction, terminal upgrades, low-emission ferry technology, and operating assistance for rural communities. Alaska leads the list with seven funded projects totaling more than 410 million dollars — including a 161 million dollar operating assistance award for the Alaska Marine Highway System and 153 million to replace the 50-year-old ferry LeConte with a new dayboat. Washington State, Virginia, Florida, and New York also received significant awards. A few project highlights. The Delaware River and Bay Authority received 30 million dollars for a new diesel-electric hybrid vessel on the Cape May to Lewes route — the construction contract for that vessel has already been awarded to Senesco Marine in Rhode Island. Virginia received 68 million to replace the ferry Surry on the Jamestown-Scotland route. And Connecticut received 6.4 million for a replacement vessel on the historic Chester-Hadlyme ferry crossing. FTA acting deputy administrator Matthew Cahill said millions of Americans rely on ferry systems to stay connected — from populated metros to rural communities — and that this investment expands routes and delivers modern vessels to give commuters faster, safer, and more reliable options. Full story at workboat.com. Before our final story — a quick word about the International WorkBoat Show. The International WorkBoat Show returns to New Orleans this December 2nd through 4th at the Morial Convention Center. Join thousands of industry professionals to network, check out the latest equipment, and learn from top industry experts. Learn more and register today at workboatshow.com. We close in, Alabama, where Master Boat Builders has launched Defiant — the third of eight tugs under construction for Maritime Partners. Defiant is scheduled for delivery this fall and carries the same con...

11. 

    21 Aug 2026

    WORKBOAT WEEKLY — Ep. 9 — Boston Whalers go autonomous, Vigor changes hands & IRS targets Jones Act waiver operators

    You're listening to the WorkBoat Weekly. Your quick hit on the stories shaping the commercial marine industry. Here's what's making news this week. We start with a story about autonomous vessels — and a surprisingly familiar hull underneath them. Textron Systems is building its Tsunami uncrewed surface vessel line on Boston Whaler hulls pulled straight from dealer lots. The autonomy package goes on top. The hull, propulsion, and components come from Brunswick's existing commercial production line — the same operation building recreational boats for consumers. The approach is deliberate. A standard Boston Whaler two fifty Outrage can be converted into an operational autonomous vessel in four to six weeks starting from an existing boat. Incorporating the work into Brunswick's production process takes two and a half to four months. That's a fraction of what a traditional military acquisition program would take. Gary Ayers, program director at Textron, put it plainly — you can't take a seven-year development-to-field timeline anymore. The autonomy system is what makes the vessel uncrewed. The hull is commercial off the shelf. Current lineup runs from 21 to 42 feet using Boston Whaler Montauk, Guardian, Outrage, and Justice platforms. The commercial supply chain brings another advantage. The Navy doesn't need a specialized parts network to sustain the craft — the components come from the same suppliers serving recreational boaters across the country. Brunswick says it has the capacity to build hundreds of these hulls today without additional capital investment. If demand grows, tooling and facility expansion would follow. Read the Full story at workboat.com. Now to a significant ownership change at one of the country's most active ship repair and construction companies. Antin Infrastructure Partners, a Paris-based private equity firm focused on infrastructure investments, has completed the acquisition of Vigor Marine Group from an affiliate of Lone Star Funds. Financial terms were not disclosed. Vigor operates shipyard and fabrication facilities in Seattle and Vancouver, Washington, Portland, San Diego, and Norfolk, Virginia. Six drydocks, 29 berths, about 2,700 workers, serving both government and commercial customers. The company eclipsed one billion dollars in revenue in 2025. During Lone Star's ownership of Vigor, the company invested more than 170 million dollars in facility improvements and technology upgrades. Vigor's CEO Francesco Valente and the U.S.-based management team will continue to lead the company under the new owner. Valente called the transition a key moment for the company and the maritime industrial base, with Antin recognizing the value and opportunity in U.S. shipyards. Antin's senior partner Ryan Shockley said the firm is focused on expanding capacity and is looking forward to writing another chapter in the company's growth. Full story at workboat.com. Before our final story — a quick word about Pacific Marine Expo. If you work on the West Coast, Pacific Marine Expo is the show you can't miss. This year, the expo heads to the Seattle Convention Center's Arch Building on November 19th. Join fishermen, vessel operators, engineers, and port officials, all under one roof. Register now at pacificmarineexpo.com. We close with a development in the ongoing Jones Act waiver story that has significant implications for foreign operators now working in U.S. domestic trade. The Internal Revenue Service has issued guidance making clear that foreign corporations earning income from waiver voyages between U.S. ports must report that income — and cannot claim the tax exclusions normally available for international shipping. The logic is straightforward. The Jones Act waiver allows foreign vessels to engage in domestic commerce that would normally be prohibited. But the tax exemptions that typically apply to international shipping don't follow the vessel into domestic trade. Income earned between two U.S. ports, though, is...

12. 

    14 Aug 2026

    WORKBOAT WEEKLY — Ep. 8 — Hanwha’s $1.2B Austal Bid, $35M for Small Shipyards & Army Landing Vessel

    You're listening to the WorkBoat Weekly. Your quick hit on the stories shaping the commercial marine industry. Here's what's making news this week. We start with a major acquisition move that could reshape U.S. defense shipbuilding. The South Korean conglomerate Hanwha Group has offered to buy Austal USA., the Alabama-based builder of Navy and Coast Guard vessels, for up to 1.2 billion dollars. The nonbinding proposal values the business at between one and 1.2 billion, and Austal has given the South Korean company four weeks to examine its U.S. books before deciding whether to proceed. WorkBoat readers will know the acquirer well — they bought Philly Shipyard in late 2024 for 100 million dollars. Adding the Alabama yard to that would give the South Korean company a significant and growing U.S. defense shipbuilding footprint. Austal's U.S. operations alone accounted for 90 percent of the Australian parent company's pretax profit last fiscal year. This isn't Hanwha's first attempt to acquire Austal. Back in 2024, the South Korean company tried to acquire the entire business — including its Australian operations — but the offer was rejected over regulatory concerns. The deal fell apart in September of that year. This new proposal is more targeted — U.S. operations only, no Australian assets involved. One complication worth noting. The Alabama yard is expected to post a significant operating loss this fiscal year due to mounting losses on shipbuilding programs. The acquirer is essentially betting it can turn that around. Full story at workboat.com. Now to a federal investment that touches nearly every corner of the country. The Maritime Administration has awarded 35.2 million dollars to 45 shipyards across 24 states and the U.S. Virgin Islands through the 2026 Small Shipyard Grant Program. The money goes toward equipment purchases, facility upgrades, and workforce training — the kind of foundational investment that keeps smaller yards competitive. The scale of this round stands out. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy called it a 300 percent increase in the program. Awards range from just over 4,000 dollars for a hoisting-license training initiative in Massachusetts to more than 1.5 million dollars for a floating drydock in Texas and a CNC plasma cutter in Oregon. Washington led the country with six funded shipyards — yards in Port Angeles, Seattle, Everett, Mount Vernon, and Bremerton all received grants. Oregon got four. Michigan and Texas each got three. WorkBoat readers will recognize several names on the list — Snow and Company in Bremerton received funding for aluminum welding training, LAD Services in Morgan City got a 165-ton crawler crane, and Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding in Sturgeon Bay received a CNC profile cutter and crane. Erika Young of the Small Shipyard Grant Coalition encouraged any yard thinking about the next round to start identifying projects and collecting application materials now — grant consultants reached capacity early this cycle. See the full list of Shipyards at workboat.com. Before our final story — a quick word about the International WorkBoat Show. The International WorkBoat Show returns to New Orleans this December second through forth at the Morial Convention Center. Join thousands of industry professionals to network, check out the latest equipment, and learn from top industry experts. Learn more and register today at workboatshow.com. We close in Vancouver, Washington, where Vigor Marine Fabrication has unveiled the first production Maneuver Support Vessel for the U.S. Army. The vessel — named Craney Island — is scheduled for delivery this fall. It's the second built under the program, following a prototype that Vigor launched in 2022. Three more are currently under construction at the Vancouver facility. The class is designed to replace the Army's aging landing craft fleet. It's faster, carries more payload, and can operate in shallow water — key for the kind of coastal and littoral oper...

13. 

    6 Aug 2026

    WORKBOAT WEEKLY — Ep. 7 — New Washington ferry, Great Lakes' untapped potential & Nichols Brothers wins SF Bay contract

    You're listening to the WorkBoat Weekly. Your quick hit on the stories shaping the commercial marine industry. Here's what's making news this week. We start in Panama City, Florida, where Eastern Shipbuilding Group has cut the first steel on Washington State's first new ferry in 11 years. The vessel is a 160-vehicle, 1,500-passenger hybrid-electric ferry designed by Elliott Bay Design Group — part of a two-boat contract with an option for a third. Washington Governor Bob Ferguson announced this week he's exercising that option. Three ferries total, at a contract value of 714.5 million dollars, coming in well under the 1.3 billion appropriated by the legislature. The need is real. Washington State Ferries has lost four vessels to retirement in the past decade. The fleet is down to 21 boats — 11 of them over 40 years old. One is 67. The system needs 26 vessels to operate effectively, and today's steel cut is the first visible progress toward closing that gap. Eastern CEO Joey D'Isernia called it a critical step in rebuilding the fleet with modern vessels that will serve Washington communities for decades. Washington State Ferries Deputy Secretary Steve Nevey echoed that — years of planning becoming visible progress. Governor Ferguson had planned to attend in person but canceled due to Washington's devastating wildfires. The context matters — the state is managing multiple crises simultaneously, and keeping the ferry program moving forward in that environment says something about its priority. Full story at workboat.com. Now to a report that makes a strong case for a region of American shipbuilding that often gets overlooked. A new study commissioned by the Conference of Great Lakes St. Lawrence Governors and Premiers — conducted by the University of Michigan's School of Naval Architecture — finds that the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway region is significantly underutilized as a shipbuilding corridor and is well positioned to play a much larger role in North American maritime production. The numbers are compelling. The region has 44 shipbuilding and repair sites, more than 12,000 marine suppliers, and a skilled trades workforce already in place. The researchers' conclusion: the main challenge is not creating new capacity — it's aligning what already exists with national shipbuilding programs. On vessel size — a common concern about the region — the study is direct. Nearly half of U.S. naval vessels can fit through the St. Lawrence Seaway locks. For larger ships, the report proposes a distributed production model where hull sections and modules are built in Great Lakes yards and transported via heavy-lift barge to coastal yards for final assembly. The report outlines five investment pathways covering technology development, supply chain expansion, autonomous vessel testing, distributed production, and full lifecycle shipbuilding. The Great Lakes' inland geography and winter climate are cited as unique advantages for testing Arctic-capable and unmanned systems that coastal test ranges can't easily replicate. Eric Oberhart of the Conference said the concern is that the region risks being overlooked for major investments. The hope is that this research changes that. Full story at workboat.com. Before our final story — a quick word about Pacific Marine Expo. If you work on the West Coast, Pacific Marine Expo is the show you can't miss. This year, Expo heads to the Seattle Convention Center's Arch Building on November 19th — join fishermen, vessel operators, engineers, port officials under one roof. Register now at pacificmarineexpo.com. We close on the West Coast, where Nichols Brothers Boat Builders on Whidbey Island, Washington, has won a contract to build the next station vessel for the San Francisco Bar Pilots. The approximately 110-foot vessel was designed by Seattle-based Glosten. Contract value and delivery date were not disclosed. The boat will be powered by Tier 4 diesels to cut fuel consumption and emissions while me...

14. 

    31 Jul 2026

    WORKBOAT WEEKLY — Ep. 6 — Navy's $77B submarine order, RIB shakeup & Boston Harbor ferry refit

    You're listening to the WorkBoat Weekly. Your quick hit on the stories shaping the commercial marine industry. Here's what's making news this week. The U.S. Navy just placed one of the largest shipbuilding orders in American history — nearly 77 billion dollars for 14 nuclear-powered submarines split between two of the country's most important yards: General Dynamics Electric Boat in Connecticut and Newport News Shipbuilding in Virginia. The order covers two types of boats. The Columbia-class carries America's sea-based nuclear deterrent — ballistic missile submarines at the core of the country's strategic arsenal. The Virginia-class are the Navy's fast-attack workhorse, built for intelligence gathering, special operations, and anti-submarine warfare. The significance here isn't just the dollar figure. It's the certainty. A contract this size gives both yards the confidence to hire, invest in facilities, and lock in suppliers years in advance. That's exactly the kind of demand signal shipbuilders say they need. Mark Rayha at Electric Boat said it plainly — this gives them and their suppliers the certainty to invest in capacity and deliver on schedule. First delivery expected by 2038. Full breakdown at workboat.com. For years the Navy bought rigid-hull inflatable boats from a single vendor locked into a five-year deal. During Covid that model nearly broke small builders — costs spiked and there was no contractual relief. This spring the Navy changed the playbook. A new ten-year contract worth up to 650 million dollars went to eight builders at once — all competing for individual orders on three hull sizes, with up to 474 boats on the table. It's a meaningful shift. More competition, faster acquisition, and a clearer demand signal for smaller yards trying to plan ahead. The builders are realistic about what it means in practice. United States Marine, Inc. president Tim Hunt said it best — prequalification means you can go out and hunt. Doesn't mean you're going to shoot anything. Full story at workboat.com. Before our final story — a quick word about Pacific Marine Expo. If you work on the West Coast, Pacific Marine Expo is the show you can't miss. This year, Expo heads to the Seattle Convention Center's Arch Building on November 19th — join fishermen, vessel operators, engineers, port officials under one roof. Register now at pacificmarineexpo.com. We close with a story about a boat that's been doing its job for 30 years — and just got another 30 ahead of it. Gladding-Hearn in Somerset, Massachusetts, redelivered the ferry Outward Bound to Boston Harbor's Outward Bound School after a full overhaul. The 64-foot steel vessel was built by the same yard back in 1995. Three decades later it came home for a complete rebuild — new engine, gearbox, shaft, propeller, electrical, steering, and fire suppression. Essentially everything that moves or powers it. The engine choice tells you something about the philosophy. A Mitsubishi diesel with no electronic controls — deliberate. No computers, says yard rep Peter Duclos. Give it air, give it fuel, and it runs. The decision to refit rather than replace came down to one question Duclos always asks: does this boat still do everything you need it to do? The owner said yes. Well then, he said, there's no reason to build a new one. Another 30 years ahead of it if they keep it up. Full story at workboat.com. That's the WorkBoat Weekly. For full coverage on all of today's stories, visit workboat.com. Find us on Apple Podcasts and Spotify — search WorkBoat Weekly.

15. 

    24 Jul 2026

    WORKBOAT WEEKLY — Ep. 5 — SHIPS for America, Korea's $150B shipbuilding bet & a Coast Guard boat racing to save veterans

    You're listening to the WorkBoat Weekly. Your quick hit on the stories shaping the commercial marine industry. Here's what's making news this week. We start in Washington, where Congress is taking its most concrete step yet toward rebuilding American shipbuilding and the U.S.-flag fleet. A House Rules Committee report on the defense authorization bill includes a sweeping maritime amendment — the SHIPS for America Act — that would fundamentally change how the government supports domestic shipping. The headline provision: doubling down on cargo preference. Right now U.S.-flag vessels are required to carry at least half of covered government cargo. This amendment would raise that to 100 percent. That's a direct pipeline of business to American operators. The proposal also creates a Maritime Security Advisor in the White House, a new interagency board to coordinate maritime policy, and a 20 billion dollar trust fund for the U.S. merchant marine. The problem it's trying to solve is stark. U.S.-flag ships carry less than 2 percent of the country's international cargo. Fewer than 200 oceangoing vessels remain under the American flag. One thing worth noting: the report makes the amendment eligible for debate. It doesn't mean it passed. But the direction is clear — and the industry has been waiting for exactly this kind of signal. Full story at workboat.com. South Korea and the United States just opened a new shipbuilding partnership center in Washington — and the dollar figure behind it is hard to ignore. One hundred and fifty billion dollars in planned Korean investment aimed squarely at rebuilding American shipbuilding capacity. The center brings together South Korea's three biggest yards — Hyundai, Hanwha, and Samsung — with U.S. partners across defense, technology, and workforce development. Fifteen agreements were signed at the launch covering everything from a new fast sealift vessel design to autonomous welding research to a welder training center in partnership with Vigor Marine. The two governments are also funding an 82 million dollar joint research program over five years covering AI ship design, yard automation, and autonomous navigation. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick set the bar plainly — success won't be measured by paperwork. It'll be measured by how many ships get built. For an industry that's spent years watching domestic capacity shrink, that's a meaningful statement backed by serious money. Full story at workboat.com. Before our final story — a quick word about Pacific Marine Expo. If you work on the West Coast, Pacific Marine Expo is the show you can't miss. This year, Expo heads to the Seattle Convention Center's Arch Building on November 19th — join fishermen, vessel operators, engineers, port officials under one roof. Register now at pacificmarineexpo.com. We close with a story about a boat with two lives — and a mission that goes well beyond the water. Freedom Fighter is a 25-foot vessel originally built for the Coast Guard after September 11 — the first of its kind off the line. After years of service it was donated to an Alaska Native village, sat on a trailer in Anchorage for nearly a decade, and was eventually purchased sight unseen by Dave Skrzecz, a 23-year Army Special Forces veteran who restored it from scratch. Now it's racing around America's Great Loop — nearly 5,000 miles — as the first national campaign for Veterans Against Suicide, the nonprofit Skrzecz founded. He and fellow veteran Mike Bucher are attempting to break a record that stands at just under 13 days. The VA reports that nearly 6,400 veterans died by suicide in 2023. That's roughly 17 every single day. Skrzecz isn't really chasing a record. He's chasing a conversation. If one veteran reaches out during the trip, he says, that's the win. A former Coast Guard rescue boat, now racing to rescue veterans. Full story at workboat.com. That's the WorkBoat Weekly. For full coverage on all of today's stories, visit workboat.com. Find us on...

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    17 Jul 2026

    WORKBOAT WEEKLY — Ep. 4 — Saronic goes big in Texas, Navy's new landing ship model & Wall Street meets shipbuilding

    You're listening to the WorkBoat Weekly. Your quick hit on the stories shaping the commercial marine industry. Here's what's making news this week. We start in Texas, where Saronic Technologies has picked Brownsville as the home of Port Alpha — a planned shipyard that could become one of the largest in the country. More than 3 billion dollars in planned investment. Operations targeted for 2028. The initial footprint is 835 acres at the Port of Brownsville with room to grow to nearly 4,400 acres. What makes this different from most shipyard announcements is the approach. Saronic isn't retrofitting an existing yard. They're building from the ground up around advanced manufacturing principles — designed for high throughput and efficiency from day one. Saronic president Dino Mavrookas was direct about the bigger ambition — rebuilding America's capacity to produce container ships, tankers, roll-on roll-off vessels, and icebreakers at scale. Not just defense work. Commercial too. WorkBoat readers will recognize Saronic from its Corsair autonomous surface vessels — the same boats deployed in the Strait of Hormuz. Port Alpha is the next chapter. Full story at workboat.com. Now to a major Navy contract that signals a real shift in how the government builds ships. The Navy has awarded a 2.2 billion dollar contract to TOTE Services of Jacksonville, Florida, to manage construction of its new Medium Landing Ship program. The McClung-class vessels are designed to move Marines and their equipment in contested coastal environments — 500 metric tons of cargo and up to 282 troops per ship. The full program calls for 35 vessels. First delivery expected in late 2029. What's significant isn't just the contract — it's the model. TOTE Services holds the prime contract and manages the shipyard subcontracts rather than the government doing it directly. Construction contracts will look more like commercial agreements, using off-the-shelf materials instead of military specs, with a proven Damen Shipyards design already in hand. Navy officials say this approach could cut typical contracting timelines nearly in half. TOTE Services president Jeff Dixon called it a defining moment for American shipbuilding and for this contracting model. TOTE is part of the Saltchuk family of companies. Full story at workboat.com. Before our final story — a quick word about the International WorkBoat Show. The International WorkBoat Show returns to New Orleans this December 2nd through 4th at the Morial Convention Center. Join thousands of industry professionals to network, check out the latest equipment, and learn from top industry experts. Learn more and register today at workboatshow.com. We close with a story that puts private capital behind the shipbuilding momentum we've been covering all week. JPMorganChase has announced a 24 million dollar package of loans, investments, and grants aimed at expanding shipbuilding capacity, workforce training, and the maritime supply chain in Philadelphia. The biggest piece is a 13 million dollar equity investment in Rhoads Industries to support a new submarine manufacturing facility at the Philadelphia Navy Yard — expected to create 450 permanent jobs. The rest of the package targets small business financing, supplier development, workforce training pathways, and non-degree credentials for people entering shipbuilding careers. JPMorganChase CEO Jamie Dimon put it plainly — America can compete and lead in shipbuilding again, and it starts with skilled workers and secure supply chains. Less than 1 percent of new commercial ships are built in the United States. The country will need an estimated 250,000 new shipbuilding workers over the next decade. This is one bank's bet that the rebuild is real. Full story at workboat.com. That's the WorkBoat Weekly. For full coverage on all of today's stories, visit workboat.com. Find us on Apple Podcasts and Spotify — search WorkBoat Weekly.

17. 

    26 Jun 2026

    WORKBOAT WEEKLY — Ep. 3 — Acadia arrives, Jones Act backfires & ports need billions in gear

    You're listening to the WorkBoat Weekly. Your quick hit on the stories shaping the commercial marine industry. Here's what's making news this week. We start in Philadelphia, where a vessel three years late and one lawsuit deep has finally arrived — and made history in the process. Hanwha Philly Shipyard has delivered the Acadia to Great Lakes Dredge and Dock — the first subsea rock installation vessel in the U.S.-flag fleet. The 461-foot Jones Act-compliant boat installs rock on the seabed to protect subsea cables, pipelines, and offshore wind foundations. She was ordered in 2021 for nearly 200 million dollars. Getting here wasn't smooth. Great Lakes sued the shipyard in 2024 over construction delays. The vessel missed its original delivery date by more than two years. Hanwha Philly CEO David Kim called the delivery a reflection of the strength of American shipbuilding — though the circumstances made that a hard-won statement. Here's the complication. The Acadia was largely built to serve the offshore wind market — contracted to install rock for Equinor's Empire Wind project off New York and New Jersey. That market is now under pressure from the Trump administration's moves to curtail offshore wind development. Great Lakes, now part of Saltchuk Resources after a 1.5 billion dollar acquisition, will need to find work. A significant vessel. An uncertain market. Full story at workboat.com. Now to a viewpoint from our own executive editor Eric Haun that's generating real attention in the commercial marine community this week. The piece is titled simply: Jones Act flub. The argument is direct. The Trump administration's Maritime Action Plan is exactly what the domestic maritime industry has been waiting for — a real strategy to rebuild American shipbuilding, grow the mariner workforce, and restore U.S. maritime dominance. Then came the Jones Act waivers. First 60 days in March, then extended another 90 — the longest waiver in the law's history. The stated reason: fuel price pressure from the Iran conflict. The problem is the waiver didn't work. Analysts predicted it would have negligible impact on gas prices. They were right — national averages have actually risen since the waiver was issued. U.S.-flag vessels were available for nearly all of the waiver voyages anyway. And foreign operators have now moved into domestic energy trade routes that Jones Act carriers have served for decades. The collateral damage is real. One maritime investment platform reportedly paused a planned billion dollar capital raise, putting more than 2.6 billion dollars in active shipyard contracts at risk. Haun's conclusion is blunt: a policy that has failed on its own terms while undermining the very sector the administration pledged to revitalize keeps getting extended. The industry deserves a better answer. Full viewpoint at workboat.com. Before our final story — a quick word about Pacific Marine Expo. If you work on the West Coast, Pacific Marine Expo is the show you can't miss. This year, Expo heads to the Seattle Convention Center's Arch Building on November 19th — join fishermen, vessel operators, engineers, port officials under one roof. Register now at pacificmarineexpo.com. We close with a look at the investment wave reshaping U.S. port operations — and the scale of what's needed. A new survey from the National Association of Waterfront Employers puts the number at 6.7 billion dollars in cargo-handling equipment investment needed over the next five years. Cranes, yard equipment, rail systems, repairs. The message from port executives is consistent — the equipment is aging and the gap is urgent. Three projects show where the money is going right now. On the Lower Mississippi, Associated Terminals has added two all-electric cranes from Liebherr, mounted on barges built in Morgan City, Louisiana — the first of their kind in the region. Built from scratch for Mississippi River operations, not an off-the-shelf solution. In Long Beach, STAX Engineeri...

18. 

    12 Jun 2026

    WORKBOAT WEEKLY — Ep. 2 — Hybrid ferry, new Coast Guard cutters & Brett Snow's unlikely shipyard

    You're listening to the WorkBoat Weekly. Your quick hit on the stories shaping the commercial marine industry. Here's what's making news this week. Breaux Brothers flipped the hull this week — literally. The 73-foot aluminum catamaran was built upside down to give welders better access to the outer plating. Cranes from H. Brown Inc. lifted and rotated the entire structure right-side up. The propulsion system, interior, and plumbing work starts now. The vessel will run entirely on battery power during Port Houston's standard two-hour educational tours of the Houston Ship Channel — zero emissions, quiet ride, up to 150 passengers. Two backup generators stand by for extended range. Port Houston runs these tours free, twice a day, Tuesday through Saturday. They wanted something cleaner, more accessible, and better suited to education and events. Delivery is expected later this year. Full story at workboat.com. Now to a significant milestone in Coast Guard shipbuilding — one that matters for every vessel operator on the inland waterway system. The first three Waterways Commerce Cutters are officially under construction at Birdon America's shipyard in Bayou La Batre, Alabama. These are the first of 30 cutters that will replace the Coast Guard's aging inland tender fleet — the boats that maintain the buoys, markers, and infrastructure that keep America's inland waterways moving. Keel authentication ceremonies were held in March for the lead vessels of both variants — the river buoy tender and the inland construction tender. The three lead cutters are named after distinguished Coast Guard enlisted leaders: the Allen Thiele, the Fred Permenter, and the Samuel Wilson. The scale of what these vessels support is worth sitting with. The Coast Guard's 12,000-mile marine transportation system moves cargo that drives more than 5 trillion dollars in annual economic activity. Congress included 162 million dollars in the 2025 funding bill specifically to accelerate the program. First delivery expected in 2027. Full story at workboat.com. Before our final story — a quick word about the International WorkBoat Show. The International WorkBoat Show returns to New Orleans this December 2nd through 4th at the Morial Convention Center. Join thousands of industry professionals to network, check out the latest equipment, and learn from top industry experts. Learn more and register today at workboatshow.com. We close with a story that has nothing to do with contracts or tonnage — and everything to do with what it actually takes to build something from scratch. Brett Snow is the founder of Snow & Company, a 110-employee family-owned shipyard in Seattle that has become one of the more productive builders of Navy workboats and commercial vessels on the West Coast. 174 hulls and climbing. His path to shipbuilding is not conventional. He dropped out of high school to finish building a sailboat. Spent two years at a wooden boatbuilding school in Port Townsend. Left the country expecting to be gone six months and came back seven years later — having lived on a Danish island, bought a North Sea fishing vessel, and built a skiff by himself in a Portuguese shipyard dating to the 1500s. Just because he wanted to. Back in Seattle he rented a room at the end of a dock and listed a nearby payphone on his business cards. Too cheap to have his own phone, he said. Around 2000 he bought a welding machine and taught himself aluminum fabrication. In 2017 he bid on a Navy contract for 26 steel harbor tugs. Thought it'd be kind of fun. Won it, amazingly. Today Snow & Company is building an eight-boat series of 80-foot battery-powered electric ship assist tugs for the California coast — the most complex vessels they've ever built. The first, named Tuuli C after his oldest daughter, delivers in September. When asked what he's most proud of, Snow didn't mention the contracts or the tugs. My team, he said. Boats are easy. People's hard. And we got a good team. Full story at wor...

19. 

    10 Jun 2026

    WORKBOAT WEEKLY — Ep. 1 — June 12, 2026

    You're listening to the WorkBoat Weekly News Brief. Your quick hit on the stories shaping the commercial marine industry. Here's what's making news this week. We start in Florida, where Eastern Shipbuilding Group out of Panama City has delivered the vehicle-passenger ferry Falcon to the Fisher Island Community Association. The vessel is now in active service on the route between Fisher Island and mainland Miami. For those unfamiliar, Fisher Island is one of the wealthiest zip codes in the United States — and it's only accessible by water. The ferry is a lifeline for the Fisher Island community. The Falcon is a 152-foot steel-hulled vessel with a 52-foot beam, designed by Elliott Bay Design Group and built at Eastern's Allanton facility. She's rated to carry approximately 30 vehicles and is powered by a Caterpillar C-18 main engine producing 600 horsepower, driving a Hundested controllable pitch propeller. Navigation electronics come from Simrad, and the vessel carries nearly 10,000 gallons of fuel. Eastern Shipbuilding Group chairman and CEO Joey D'Isernia called the delivery a reflection of, quote, "the dedication, craftsmanship, and attention to detail of our shipbuilding team." Fisher Island Community Association president Robert Sosa added that the vessel will play an important role in meeting the community's transportation needs while providing a safe and comfortable passenger experience. This is the kind of delivery that doesn't make national headlines but matters enormously to the communities these vessels serve. For the full story, head to workboat.com. Now, to a story that is making national headlines. Two crewmen from a downed U.S. Army AH-64 Apache attack helicopter were rescued near the Strait of Hormuz this week by a Navy surface drone — a first for the rapidly expanding unmanned fleet. The helicopter was shot down on June 8th, reportedly by Iranian forces, while patrolling near the Omani coast. The two soldiers spent approximately two hours in the water before being recovered by a 24-foot Saronic Corsair autonomous surface vessel. They were listed in stable condition. The Corsair, built by Austin-based Saronic Technologies, is a modular autonomous surface vessel capable of carrying roughly 1,000 pounds of payload, ranging over 1,000 nautical miles, and hitting speeds above 35 knots. It was designed for everything from maritime domain awareness to strike missions — and now, search and rescue. The Navy awarded Saronic a $392 million contract for these vessels back in December 2025. Operational deployment for the vessels began during the Iran conflict in March. This rescue was coordinated by U.S. Naval Forces Central Command, Task Force 59 — the Navy's drone-specialist unit — along with the 82nd Airborne Division. Here's the broader context worth sitting with: the Strait of Hormuz effectively was closed for more than 100 days. Around 20 percent of global fossil fuel supply moves through that narrow waterway. The fact that an unmanned vessel just carried out its first real-world personnel rescue there tells you something significant about where autonomous maritime systems are heading — and how fast. Full story at workboat.com. Before our final story — a quick word about the International WorkBoat Show. If you work in commercial marine, December 2nd through 4th is the date to have on your calendar. The International WorkBoat Show returns to the Morial Convention Center in New Orleans. Shipbuilders, operators, engineers, equipment manufacturers, port authorities — the entire industry under one roof for three days. Registration is opening soon. Reserve your spot at workboatshow.com. Finally, a significant leadership shakeup at one of the country's most important naval shipyards. Austal USA, based in Mobile, Alabama, has confirmed Gene Miller as its new president — and simultaneously announced three additional senior appointments, signaling a deliberate effort to strengthen the yard's management depth. Miller had been...

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