NORFOLK, Va. – The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration (MARAD) awarded a $387,500 grant to support capital improvements at Colonna’s Shipyard, Inc.
The funding is apart of the $9.8 million Small Shipyard Grant Program given to 18 small shipyards located throughout the U.S.
This grant is an investment that government officials are hoping will help supports industrial modernization and increase productivity, allowing the country’s small shipyards to compete more effectively in the global marketplace, The Department of Transportation said.
“These grants will support local communities by creating jobs for working families,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine L. Chao. “Small shipyards play a significant role in our country’s maritime sector, which contributes to our economy, security, and infrastructure.”
Virginia shipyards produce more than 65,000 direct, indirect, and induced jobs and contribute more than $4.3 billion in direct, indirect, and induced labor income to the Nation’s economy.
Colonna’s Shipyard, which was founded in 1875, will use the funds it received in the grant from MARAD’s towards a Link-Belt 110-ton rough terrain crane The Department of Transportation said.
“U.S. shipyards produce what are unquestionably the best-built vessels in the world,” said Maritime Administrator Mark H. Buzby. “The grants awarded today will help ensure that America’s shipbuilding industry remains the international standard.”
Since 2008, MARAD’s Small Shipyard Grant Program has awarded $174 million to 169 small shipyards in the hopes to improve efficiency and boost productivity with employee training and new technologies. Total economic activity associated with American shipyard is nearly 400,000 jobs, $25.1 billion of labor income, and $37.3 billion in GDP.
