NORTH KINGSTOWN – Two shipyards operating out of Quonset Point have been awarded federal grants totaling $1.4 million for equipment and production upgrades, according to an announcement Tuesday from the office of U.S. Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I.
The so-called “Small Shipyard Grants” eligible for shipyards that have fewer than 1,200 production employees will go to J. Goodison Co. and Senesco Marine LLC are part of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s 2023 Maritime Administration Small Shipyard Grant program.
Funding for the program was restored in 2016 after a 10-year hiatus and was appropriated $20 million in the recent omnibus package signed by President Joe Biden in January.
J. Goodison will receive $704,206 to support the purchase of a 176-ton hydraulic self-propelled vessel transporter to give the company “an increased ability to handle and service vessels in that weight range more efficiently” and to “expand its current services, while adding the necessary capacity to serve an increasing number of Crew Transfer Vessels operating in the region.”
Jack Goodison, CEO and president of J. Goodison Co. said the award will allow the company to “grow our competitive vessel repair services and the new good-paying jobs this equipment will help bring about.”
Senesco Marine will receive $738,289 to support the purchase of equipment including a submerged arc welding system, upgraded network servers and software, a specialized lift and “a compressor that converts energy into compressed air that is used to provide high pressure air to critical shipbuilding equipment,” according to the release.
Senesco Marine is currently building three crew transfer vessels to service crew transport for the offshore wind projects being constructed by Orsted A/S and Eversource Energy.
The award to Seneca Marine will create 200 new jobs, according to its president, Ted Williams.
“The equipment…will allow Senesco Marine to be competitive in the industry for decades to come,” he said.
Rhode Island shipyards have received nearly $9 million in federal grants from the SSG program since its inception. J. Goodison previously received $504,237 in 2020 and $518,538 in 2019.
A senior member of the Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee, Reed said the state’s shipyards “build and maintain the vessels that drive our economy and protect our coasts… and generate jobs and economic opportunities.”
“We’ve got to keep them competitive and ensure they are prepared to meet the needs of the nation’s transportation, security, energy, and navigation fleet,” he said.
Christopher Allen is a PBN staff writer. You may contact him at Allen@PBN.com.
