Keeping GC shipyard workers

From Louisiana to Florida, recruiting and retaining shipyard workers is an uphill battle. Though the pool is deep along the Gulf Coast, the big yards like Ingalls in Pascagoula, Miss., and Austal USA, Mobile, Ala. - that employ thousands of workers - drain the pool of experienced craftsmen and craftswomen for smaller yards. 

"We recently had a week where we brought in 45 to 50 people," said Garrett Rice, Master Boat Builders, Coden, Ala. "I think we kept seven." Master Boat has plenty of work. 

Among the boats in the yard and water are two 86-foot escort tugs for Moran Towing Corp., which will be followed by two more; two 92-foot escort tugs and a much-publicized Crowley, the 82-foot e-Wolf - a tug which will be the first fully electric ship-assist tug in the U.S. and designed to be the first zero-emission tugboat. 

In Pascagoula, Signet Shipbuilding & Repair just delivered two 103-foot Rotortugs to its parent company. For Signet, safety is the linchpin to attracting and keeping shipyard workers. 

Eastern Shipbuilding in Panama City, Fla., is working on numerous contracts, including a 320-foot hopper dredge for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; a 302-foot vehicle/passenger vessel for Bridgeport & Port Jefferson Steamboat; and the conversion of a Hornbeck Offshore Gulf of Mexico OSV to an offshore wind service operation vessel.

The contract that keeps the yard's 1,500 shipyard workers busy are four 360-foot offshore patrol cutters for the Coast Guard, which are capable of carrying an MH-60R or MH-65 helicopter, and three over-the-horizon (OTH) cutter boats. 

 "We're the biggest manufacturer in the area," said Joey D'Isernia. "But we don't just recruit in the area, we recruit nationwide."

D'Isernia said training and keeping workers is a big challenge. "It's the biggest challenge to shipbuilding in America," he said. 

"Our craftsmen and women are aging out, and we're not doing a good enough job as a country to educate our young people in the value of the crafts industry. When's the last time you heard of a high school with a shop class?" 

D-Isernia said his shipyard works closely with schools to make students aware of what leaning a craft like welding and pipe fitting can mean for their careers. 

Steiner Shipyard, Bayou La Batre, Ala., is working on a contract for four 76-foot conventional towboats for Florida Marine Transporters, Mandeville, La. The shipyard is also working on a 104-foot, 1,200-passenger/vehicle ferry for the Maine Department of Transportation. They have about 40-50 workers in the yard. "We've been pretty good at keeping people but finding new workers that want to work can sometimes be a problem." (Work Boat 10/04/23) Workforce shortages plague Gulf Coast shipyards | WorkBoat

AIA prez bemoans threat of potential gov't shutdowns 

In a You Tube interview, Eric Fanning, president/CEO of the Aerospace Industries Association, outlines the "tremendous damage" posed by the threat of government shutdowns because they "start before they actually happen." Fanning cites the disruption of cashflow to suppliers and some contractors' income loss. (You Tube 10/04/23) Defense Industrial Base and Its Impact Across Those Domains feat. Steve Clemons and Eric Fanning - YouTube