COVER STORY Yearbook
YEARBOOK
T
he big story in the last 12 months was once again the coronavirus pandemic. At many shipyards, business has stayed steady despite the lingering effects from the pandemic (see below). Inland barge operations are returning to normal as cargo shipments rebound (see page 31). Tug operators continue to build innovative vessels (see page 34). The passenger vessel industry is finally looking forward to a strong season (see page 36). The offshore energy industry is seeing demand and commodity prices increase (see page 38).
Shipyard owners embrace change By Ken Hocke, Senior Editor
W
e’ve all heard the phrase, “You have to spend money to make money.” Over the past year, shipyard owners seem to have taken those words to heart. Many boatbuilders are expanding their facilities, moving to new digs, or opening additional locations — trying to land that next big contract and the one after that. In early 2022, Russell T. “Bubba” Steiner moved into his new Bayou La Batre, Ala., shipyard, Steiner Con30
struction, a piece of land that used to be a part of Horizon Shipyard before it was sold to Metal Shark in 2018. The new yard gives Steiner increased capacity. Steiner said the old yard became too crowded. “This yard will give us more room to build more boats.”
MORE WATERFRONT
Austal USA, Mobile, Ala., has been building aluminum fast warships for the Navy for two decades. From its humble beginnings in the late 1990s, the yard has blossomed into a world-class shipbuilder, primarily from two Navy contracts — the 421'6"×103.7' Independence-variant littoral combat ship (LCS)
and the 338'×93'×12' expeditionary fast transport (EPF) vessel. Today, those ships are built at Austal USA’s 700,000-sq.-ft. module manufacturing facility (MMF), a modern, hyper-technological facility with a production line that produces a ship that’s 85% finished when it completes its trip across the building. Following the acquisition of additional waterfront property along the Mobile River in 2020, Austal USA established a ship repair facility, a first for Austal, that received an immediate positive response and came with a 692'×122', 20,000-ton certified Panamax-class floating drydock. “Almost immediately after word got
www.workboat.com • JUNE 2022 • WorkBoat
