Feature: The Jewel of the Industrial Canal
The Industrial Canal in New Orleans is aptly named. Connecting a tributary of Mississippi River with Lake Pontchartrain, it is much like a boulevard of broken dreams. Remnants of old shipyards, coffee-roasting facilities operating at half capacity and areas where the oil boom flourished and died dot the banks of the canal. Trinity Yachts, that has suddenly become the 800 lb. Gorilla of the megayacht business. Trinity Yachts was once a part Friede Goldman Halter Company, that corporate experiment that proved you couldn't put an oilrig builder and a boat builder together and get a company that meshes together. Trinity Yachts and was one of the first pieces of the company to be sold off.
Intermarine Reports Increasing Numbers
Increasing numbers of motor and sailing yachts from around the world arrived this past year at Intermarine Savannah to take advantage of the shipyard's repair and refit facilities. Among the procession of vessels brought to Intermarine for refit and repairs was the 315-ft. M/V Limitless, one of the largest yachts in the world, which was dry docked at the shipyard for three months last year. "For years," said Intermarine Marketing Director Patta Sloan Conboy; "our exceptional facilities and service were one of the best kept secrets in the yachting world. Among the yachts scheduled for work recently at Intermarine, the 158-ft. Feadship Mi Gaea arrived in September for an extension to the sundeck…
Megayacht Market Expands
Basic laws of supply and demand seem to have little impact on the megayacht market. It is driven by the financial health of the builders, not the purchasers. In the past, the market had been plagued by high profile bankruptcies of some of the builders, driving buyers to Europe or even the Far East for their dreamboats. Today the U.S. market is healthier because of one firm, Trinity Yachts of New Orleans. Trinity has been in business for a little over four years, but in that time they have continued to grow to a point where they are building a new outfitting building for vessels up to 250 ft. long and typically have three boats in their outfitting shed and three in fabrication. "Outfitting one of our boats takes at least a year," said Billy Smith, VP of Trinity Yachts.
Trinity Yachts Reopens Industrial Canal France Road Facility
Trinity Yachts, has recently re-opened their original shipyard, located on the Industrial Canal in the Eastern section of New Orleans, Louisiana. The 38 acre yard with almost 10 acres of covered building area suffered badly from the effects of the hurricane water and almost 70% of the work force lost their homes. After partial power, rudimentary communications and general infrastructure returned to the yard and using many local employees to continue the clean-up and repairs, Trinity officially re-opened its doors on July 5th. Fortunately because the New Orleans shipyard is above sea level and located outside of New Orleans levee system, it was not exposed to the weeks of flooding most of the city endured.
Feature: A Major Force in Megayachts
There are a few top executives in the marine industry who "know when to hold them and when to fold them." Their insightfulness is legendary … always seeming to know the exact time to make a move professionally or personally. One of those people is John Dane III, president of Trinity Yachts LLC of New Orleans. Dane has a long and storied background in the marine industry, first as a engineer with Halter Marine, later as owner of Moss Point Marine, which was sold to Halter at which time Dane became president. When rig maker Friede Goldman purchased Halter, Dane became president but instinctively knew this was going to be a rough road.
