Westport Shipyard News

U.S. marine vessel operators have invested in their fleets, adopted new technologies and switched to cleaner burning engines and fuels to stay in business. In this edition, we take a look at how industry leading marine operators have flourished, sometimes in tough circumstances. At family-run McAllister and Chouest, sons and daughters learned operations from the ground up, while CEO Todd Hornbeck revamped the first version of a company started by his dad. All value their employees and say workplace safety is a priority. Each of these companies is quick to meet customer demands.

Representatives of Westport Shipyard, Inc. (Westport, WA), the largest yacht builder in North America, announced today that the company’s assets have been acquired by Westport, LLC, an ownership group that includes members of the Louisiana-based Chouest family. Celebrating 50 years of business in 2014, Westport maintains three locations in Washington state, as well as a marina and sales office in Ft. Lauderdale, FL. Employing over 400 skilled employees, Westport has completed more than 120 yachts since 2000. And one of those customers was Gary Chouest. “Gary has always been passionate about our industry, and we are honored to count him as a customer…

The Westport GRC43m (Global Response Cutter) “Solution” is completing the East Coast leg of the US tour, demonstrating the vessel to Domestic and Foreign Military agencies, Vice President of Westport Philip Purcell notes. Westport’s Business Model-Series built vessels--delivers a fast, long range, multi-mission cutter with extraordinary tolerances for durability and quality. The GRC43m demonstrated performance characteristics and inherent benefits are many--Low acquisition cost…

Westport Shipyard of Westport, Wash. recently launched its Global Response Cutter (GRC-43) prototype, constructed of a composite material the company believes to be the future of boat building. The launching of the 143-ft vessel also marks the yard’s return to commercial boat building. Westport Shipyard began in 1964, building commercial fishing vessels for the Northwest fleet and the occasional pleasure boat. In the early 90s Westport built the high-speed ferries for the Catalina service, but shortly afterward the company segued over to serving the yachting industry exclusively.

Westport’s launch of the Global Response Cutter (GRC-43) from its composite patrol vessel series (CPV) represents a significant milestone while marking a return to the company’s commercial roots. The composite GRC-43 offers many advantages to the world’s Coast Guards and Navy’s over aluminum and steel builds, including but not limited to superior weight to strength/distinct thermal advantages/non-corrosive properties while in parallel significantly reducing maintenance costs/increasing operational on station time, and life cycles of the patrol vessels.

Westport Shipyard delivered the 95 x 22.7 ft. fiberglass excursion boat, Tanaina, to Prince William Sound Cruises & Tours (PWSCT). The boat will be based in Whittier, Alaska, to join other firms providing excursion services on Prince William Sound. Tanaina, an Alaskan word meaning, "the people," was constructed using Westport's 8500 series adjustable hull form, featuring modified propeller tunnels. The new 28-knot vessel is powered by Caterpillar 3512B engines delivering 1,960 hp at 1,835 rpm. Engines deliver power through ZF BW460 2.529:1 marine gears. The Bird-Johnson 488 x 59 five-bladed Nibral propellers have an 18-degree skew and .89 DAR. Twin Disc power Commander engine controls are installed in the wheelhouse and wing stations.

Measuring 175 ft. in length, dinner cruise vessel Starship was recently delivered to Starship Cruise Lines of Biloxi, Miss. Boasting a mega-yacht style, the vessel was designed by Naval Architects Dejong & Lebet of Jacksonville, Fla., and constructed by Freeport, Fla.-based Freeport Shipbuilding. Plachter-Vogel Design provided interior architecture. USCG-Certified under Subchapter K for 600 passengers, plus 30 crew, Starship carries a Stability Letter for Partially Protected waters. The vessel is designed to have a 5-5.6 ft. full load draft enabling it to access some of the Biloxi area's more shallow waterways. The hull features tunnels to allow large enough propellers while minimizing the draft.