Category: Shipbuilding

Florida AI Developer Says Its Platform Can Save Shipyards from Aging Workforce ‘Cliff Edge’

By Dolgo. Dolgo, a new maritime tech start-up spun out of the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Ocean Enterprise Accelerator, today announced the development of a new AI software platform to transform shipyard skills training. Tampa, Florida based Dolgo says the software will retain expertise presently being lost as large numbers of workers retire from the […]

Drone shipbuilder plans to hire 1,500 for its St. Mary Parish facility

By Greg LaRose, Louisiana Illuminator. Just months after it acquired a St. Mary Parish shipyard, a Texas company plans to increase the number of drone vessels it will build there and intends to hire 1,500 employees for the additional work, Louisiana Economic Development officials announced Wednesday. Austin-based Saronic Technologies will spend $300 million at its […]

Colonna’s Shipyard Recognizes 2025 Apprentice Graduates

By Colonna’s Shipyard Inc.  NORFOLK, VA — OCT. 1, 2025 – Colonna’s Shipyard Inc. proudly recognized four Apprentice Graduates in September. Graduates of Colonna’s Apprenticeship embody the company’s values of Respect, Pride, Truth, and Family and have completed more than 8,000 hours of on-the-job training and 576 hours of related technical instruction. “These graduate apprentices […]

VOGEL: Want More Ships? Fix How Washington Builds Them

By Jeff Vogel, TOTE Services. President Donald Trump’s call for new investment in U.S. shipbuilding comes at a pivotal moment. From icebreakers to training ships, America faces rising demand for vessels even as foreign competitors pour billions into their own yards. But there has been significant concern about how America can keep up. Government shipbuilding programs have fallen behind due […]

Great Lakes Icebreaker Gap Threatens American Maritime Dominance

By James Weakley, Lake Carriers’ Association. When Americans think of our coastlines, most picture the beaches of the Atlantic, the Pacific, or the Gulf. But the Great Lakes are America’s fourth coast — a 2,300-mile expanse reaching deep into the nation’s industrial heartland. Each year, this system moves more than 135 million tons of cargo worth over […]

America’s Shipyards Are Working — and Winning

By VOICES Staff. Across the United States, the shipbuilding industry is booming.  According to WorkBoat’s 2024 Construction Survey, more than 925 vessels were either delivered, under construction, or on order in the past year alone. That includes everything from tugboats and training ships to advanced subsea installation vessels and LNG-ready containerships. Recent milestones in Pennsylvania […]

The Trump Opportunity: Shipbuilders Discuss America’s Maritime Moment

By VOICES Staff. For the first time in decades, the men and women of American Maritime are in the spotlight, receiving Presidential and Congressional support, attention that industry veterans say was “really unimaginable until really just two or three years ago.” At a recent Hudson Institute panel discussion, leading voices in American shipbuilding came together […]

Long trek to Lone Star State sparked plan for SC maritime academy

by David Wren, SC Daily Gazette, August 8, 2025. With more than 1,100 miles to think while driving from Charleston to Galveston, Texas, three years ago, state Rep. Tom Hartnett Jr. found himself asking the same question again and again. Why doesn’t South Carolina have its own maritime academy? Hartnett was taking his son, Rhett, […]

‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ bolsters Coast Guard shipbuilding programs

By Steve Wilson. (The Center Square) — Passage of the “Big, Beautiful Bill” this summer has provided a jolt to the U.S. Coast Guard’s shipbuilding program as it seeks to replace most of its aging fleet. The service’s most important shipbuilding program, the Heritage class Offshore Patrol Cutter, is years behind schedule and its cost […]

Crowley Tug Repowers Boost Maritime Readiness in America’s Busiest Ports

By VOICES Staff. Two of the hardest-working tugboats on the West Coast are back in action—smarter, cleaner, and more powerful than ever. Crowley has completed full repowers of the Master and Leader, its ship assist and escort tugs serving the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. These modernizations are helping ensure the ports — […]