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Alaska Ship and Drydock Inc. (ASD) will become part of Vigor Industrial, under an acquisition plan announced this week by both companies.
The deal would strengthen shipbuilding, ship repair and maritime jobs in Alaska, the joint announcement said.
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Images: Vigor Industrial |
| ASD would operate the Ketchikan Shipyard as the Alaska Ship & Drydock LLC subsidiary of Vigor Industrial. |
The sale requires approval by the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority (AIDEA), which owns the Ketchikan Shipyard, where ASD is based. ASD performs painting, cleaning, repairs, inspections, and other services at the shipyard, which was established in the 1980s.
The two privately held companies expect to finalize the agreement by March 1.
‘Increase Capacity, Competitiveness’
Under Vigor, ASD would operate the Ketchikan Shipyard (KSY) as the Alaska Ship & Drydock LLC subsidiary, continuing its 30-year AIDEA operating agreements.
ASD employees and customers will notice little change in day-to-day operations, said ASD owner Randy Johnson, a Ketchikan resident who has directed operations at KSY since 1994. Johnson will become ASD Vice Chairman under the new ownership.
“The purchase of ASD by Vigor will increase the capacity and competitiveness of the Ketchikan Shipyard in many ways, positioning Ketchikan and the State of Alaska to not only continue our high level of service to existing customers, but to significantly participate in exciting new markets emerging in the North Pacific and Arctic Oceans,” Johnson said.
‘Tremendous Opportunity’
Vigor Industrial currently owns and operates a wide range of maritime services—including painting and blasting, shipbuilding and repair—in the Pacific Northwest.
“We see a tremendous opportunity here to work with Alaska residents to grow maritime jobs and industry from Oregon to the Arctic,” said Frank Foti, Vigor Industrial owner and CEO.
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| The ASD site will be Vigor Industrial’s seventh facility in the Pacific Northwest. |
Vigor’s holdings include marine painting contractor Specialty Finishes; the 60-acre Swan Island shipyard in Portland; the historic Harbor Island yard in Seattle; as well as operations in Tacoma, Everett, Bremerton and Port Angeles. The company serves commercial, government and military clients.
The acquisition will give the company a full range of shipbuilding, repair and modernization services across seven facilities in Alaska, Washington and Oregon, officials said. The expanded operation will employ nearly 2,000 workers and include 10 drydocks; more than 17,000 feet of pier space; large-scale fabrication facilities, specialty coatings; and other industrial services.
Shipyard Fatality
In February 2011, Vigor purchased the Todd Pacific Shipyards in Seattle, where the company maintains and renovates U.S. Navy and Coast Guard vessels.
The former Todd Pacific shipyard was the site of a shipwright’s fatal fall last Friday. That accident remains under investigation.
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