SAN DIEGO– The boat protection sydney and the Marine Group Boat Works, LLC, (“Marine Group”) a San Diego family-owned boat building and repair company with three yards in Chula Vista, National City and San Jose del Cabo, were recently awarded three Navy contracts to build five small, powerful steel tugboats; six large steel work boats; and 16 aluminum 60’ dive boats, for a total of 27 new vessels with a value of over $45 million.
Upon completion of construction in San Diego, the work boats will be delivered to Navy Base Yokohama, Japan and spread throughout naval force bases in the U.S.
In a fourth separate Navy contract, Marine Group will dismantle and dispose of two 224’ Avenger-class Mine Counter Measure (MCM) ships built in the mid-1980s—USS Avenger and USS Defender—in accordance to state and federal environmental regulations, recycling parts where possible.
The combined period of performance takes the shipyard’s workload and order books well into 2020.
“Our vision was to bring custom boat building back to California where we have trained a new generation of craftsmen,” said Todd Roberts, president of Marine Group. “Our team uses innovative constructing techniques, digital technology for precise results and collaborates with each other toconstantly improve their skills. We wouldn’t have the reputation for high-quality work without the men and women who make up our team of craftsmen.”
The Navy conducted a nationwide call for competitive bids from qualified shipyards with less than 500 employees who have proven design concepts that would fulfill the Navy’s new fleet missions requirements.
Marine Group’s work boats are steel hull with aluminum cabins, and have the capability of towing and pushing in all directions including astern and alongside. The work boats will be used to assist in mooring, moving support equipment and opening and closing safety barriers within Japanese harbors.
Marine Group’s dive boats will be assigned to support Navy divers on both the East and West Coasts. Navy dive crews need a rugged, sturdy boatto handle extreme weather conditions to operate and perform underwater maintenance and missions. Marine Group uses high-grade aluminumprotected by rubber fenders all around the hull for extra durability and longevity under consistently wet conditions.
