Recently completed repairs to the Ronald Reagan Marine Railway shipyard slipway got their first test last week, when a fishing boat went up on dry dock. According to David Robinson, chairman of the ASG Shipyard Service Authority, things went smoothly.

The repair work at the government-owned facility started several weeks ago and included replacing an aging hauling chain and improvements to the platform, which Robinson said had been neglected by previous operators over the years.

Responding to Samoa News questions, Robinson said that last Tuesday, they completed nearly all of the work, which cost over $400,000 in repairs, overhaul, and installation of the new hauling chain for the dry dock.

“We have some more work to do in realigning parts of the railway lines but this has not prevented us from hauling up a longliner fishing boat after six weeks of intensive work,” he said, adding that the fishing boat went up on the slipway Tuesday afternoon after the repair work was completed. “The haul-out ran very smoothly and all other parts of the railway worked perfectly.”

Robinson acknowledged the “invaluable assistance of engineers” from Massachusetts-based Crandalls Dry Dock Engineers who have been with the shipyard for the duration of the work program.

“They have not only supervised the work, they have provided on-the-job-training for our local staff who have benefited greatly from their experience throughout the whole of the work program,” he said.

He added that Crandalls has begun work on the design of a replacement for the old 800-ton dry dock that was allowed to deteriorate by previous operators, and the new one will be a 1,000-ton unit capable of hauling out two longliners at a time.

Additionally, the shipyard is “well on the way to completing our cleanup of the general areas of the shipyard with the removal of scrap metal and hazardous materials,” Robinson said, and noted that the clean up is very important for the safety of the community.

Further, “we have orders booked for repairs for vessels taking us through March next year and we are hoping for more work from local longliners and the purse seiner fleet from Tri Marine International as well as the ASG and Samoa government vessels,” he said.

The increase in work means more workers will be hired, said Robinson.

OTHER SHIPYARD DEVELOPMENTS

Robinson said rehabilitation of the dock area which was damaged during the 2009 tsunami should start by early next year, and the work will be paid for by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). 

He said funding arrangements are being handled by the Executive Branch and the shipyard's board of directors is eager to get this work done as soon as possible. 

In addition,Shipyard Services has recently arranged to give StarKist Samoa access for trucks with reefer containers to drive through the shipyard to their premises, which are to be used for the expansion of their pouching operations.  StarKist will be using part of government land, which was previously part of the old Satala power plant, destroyed by the 2009 tsunami.

Lastly, plans are now well underway for the establishment of a Maritime Training Academy with assistance from the Department of Youth and Women’s Affairs and the US Coast Guard.