Organisation
Great Lakes Group is hiring a director of fleet engineering to oversee maintenance, repairs, upgrades and compliance across a fleet of 40 tugs assigned to ports throughout the Great Lakes. The role reports to the VP of Compliance and includes responsibility for budgets, records, training, contracts and incident response.
Birdon plans to open a 400,000-square-foot ship manufacturing facility at the Port of Pensacola, Florida, making it its sixth US location. The yard said the site would add more than three million production man-hours a year of capacity and employ about 2,000 people, with opening expected as soon as the third quarter of 2027.
Birdon has started construction on Inland Construction Tender WLIC 1602, the third Waterways Commerce Cutter vessel in its program for the US Coast Guard. The work began at Bayou La Batre, Alabama, ahead of schedule, after WLIC 1601 started in June and the first River Buoy Tender, WLR 1801, in September.
Birdon has started its first apprenticeship cohort at its Bayou La Batre, Alabama shipyard, beginning with shipfitting apprentices. The programme is registered with the Alabama Office of Apprenticeship and supported by Central Gulf Industrial Alliance, with NCCER-aligned training and planned expansion into pipefitting and marine electrical trades.
Birdon will take on ten local ship fitting apprentices at its Bayou La Batre shipyard in August. The roughly two-year programme is certified by the Alabama Office of Apprenticeship and uses NCCER curriculum.
Birdon has started construction on the first new Waterways Commerce Cutter at its Bayou La Batre shipyard in Alabama. The company said the vessel is part of a $1.187 billion US Coast Guard contract for 27 cutters awarded in 2022, and that more than $27 million in capital improvements are underway at the yard.