Steamship Authority Relying On A Single Shipyard For Dry Dock Maintenance
JohnCarl McGrady •
The number of dry docks responding to requests to inspect and repair the Steamship Authority’s fleet of vessels has slowly dwindled over the last few years, and the state agency is now relying on just a single New London shipyard.
“Thames [Shipyard] has been fabulous. They've been a great partner, but relying on a single dry dock is dangerous,” Steamship Authority general manager Alex Kryska said at the Steamship Authority’s Board of Governors meeting earlier this month.
If something happens to the Thames Shipyard in New London, Connecticut, and it isn’t able to take one of the Steamship Authority’s vessels, the boat line would be out of options.
“It’s been working. It’s been great, but, you know, if you only have one dealership to take your car to, and all of a sudden they say they can’t take it, what do you do?” Rob Ranney, Nantucket’s representative to the Steamship Authority board, told the Current.
The Steamship Authority’s management is actively working to find more docks willing to take on their vessels. They are reaching out to prospective shipyards and visiting some in person, and have gone to at least one conference in an effort to increase interest from other dry docks.
“They’re trying to be proactive with it as much as possible, but a lot of it comes down to the bidding process, the procurement process,” Ranney said, a process which the Steamship Authority is required to comply with.
Ranney added that, in the past, several dry docks had responded to the Steamship’s requests for proposals, but several shipyards have scaled down their operations or gone out of business since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, leaving the Steamship Authority with fewer and fewer options.
“This has sort of been a developing situation over the last several years,” he said. “It’s gradually come down to really one.”
The Steamship Authority’s management also doesn’t want to go too far south for a dry dock, as that would significantly increase the amount of time repairs would take.