Ship Assembly Hall News

Vigor Industrial has emerged as a leading consolidator of shipbuilding prowess on the U.S. West Coast, and the company continues to invest in new capability and infrastructure. “Over the past year there has been a marked increase in vessel fabrication opportunities of all kinds, including for ferries, tugs, barges, and fishing vessels,” said Vince Piscitello, VP of Sales, Marketing and Business Development. Earlier this year Vigor signed an agreement to build the largest floating drydock in the United States, and construction is currently underway.

The lift gate of ship assembly hall 290 at the Volkswerft shipyard in Stralsund (Germany) opened for the roll-out of the first of two RoRo special ships for the Danish shipping company DFDS. The construction phase “ship hull assembly” of the new vessel with the shipyard job number 500 has now been completed. The special transporter left the hall on the shipyard’s rail-based transport system towards the ship lift and will over the coming days for example undergo leakage tests as…

Alaska has approved Vigor Industrial’s bid to assume Alaska Ship & Drydock’s (ASD) private/public partnership leases to operate the Ketchikan Shipyard. The Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority unanimously voted today in Anchorage to transfer leases to the new Vigor Alaska Ship & Drydock subsidiary, clearing the way for Vigor’s acquisition of the operating company. The purchase was first announced Feb. 7 pending AIDEA approval. Officials of the Ketchikan Gateway Borough and the City of Ketchikan also approved the transfer. “We start today working with the people here in Ketchikan and throughout Alaska to build even more maritime and industrial jobs at this great facility…

Abu Dhabi Shipbuilding (ADSB) has reached another major milestone in the Baynunah Corvette Program for the UAE Navy. On June 21, ADSB laid the keel block for the third of a six-ship program and initiated the first steel cutting for the fourth ship. The first ship is under construction in Cherbourg, France at the shipyard of ADSB’s subcontractor, Construction Mecaniques de Normandie (CMN). The hull structure and superstructure are in place and outfitting is in process. The second ship construction at ADSB’s Massafah shipyard facility in Abu Dhabi has now reached main deck level for the platform and work on the aluminium superstructure and top side module has commenced. The keel laying consists of placing the first construction block in position in the Ship Assembly Hall.

As a resounding endorsement of its long-term commitment to shipbuilding in the U.K., Vosper Thornycroft (VT) has created a state-of-the-art ship production facility within Portsmouth Naval Base. Having recently attained preliminary operational status through steel cutting on 295-ft. (90-m) transport barge, the 33-acre naval shipbuilding yard is set to play a key role in the construction of the Royal Navy's next generation of destroyers while extending VT's overall build capabilities and market reach. It has been some decades since Britain last saw the opening of a new yard of any significant size, and VT's initiative ensures a future for the industry in southern England.