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A SHIPYARD GROWS IN CONNECTICUT Gavin Higgins doesn't have a crystal ball, but he can see the future of Derecktor Shipyard in Bridgeport. "With the size of this site, some day we’ll be able to build Panamax-size ships and vessels in steel and aluminum up to 500 feet long,” says Higgins, general manager of Derecktor Shipyard Connecticut. “Of course,” he admits, “that’s a few steps down the road.” So, too, is Derecktor Shipyard New York, Mamaroneck, N.Y., about a 30-minute drive from the new shipbuilding and repair facility rising in Bridgeport. Derecktor has signed a 25-year lease with the Bridgeport Port Authority for the 23-acre tract of waterfront property that was at one-time home to a steel factory in Bridgeport Harbor. Plans call for an initial investment of between $18 million and $20 million, $7 million of which is being provided by the Connecticut Development Authority in the form of a loan. Phase I of Derecktor Shipyard Connecticut is already complete: A 600 ft long x 90 ft wide x 45 ft high building hall that has a 10-ton overhead crane and plasma cutter with storage for aluminum plate. Phases II and III will involve bulkhead work, installation of Travelift piers, erection of outfitting halls, support shops and a final assembly hall. The yard will also have the largest Marine Travelift in the U.S., one with a 650-ton capacity and ability to carry a vessel with a 40-foot beam. Consultants from Kvaerner and Designers & Planners worked with Derecktor to optimize the shipyard's layout for modular, series construction. For Derecktor, the logic behind the investment in the Connecticut shipyard was simple.”We’ve outgrown [the Mamaroneck] facility” Higgins told MARINE LOG. Playing into the expansion is Derecktor’s pursuit of the Alaska high-speed car ferry contract. It is competing against Austal USA, Mobile, Ala., and Eastern Shipbuilding Group, Panama City, Fla., for the right to build the first of two 250-passenger/36-car-capacity, 32-knot ferries. The Alaska Marine Highway System will select a builder by November. The Mamaroneck facility, which Derecktor has called home since 1947, is a mere three acres. Even so, by using such technologies as computer lofting, fairing and parts generation combined with NC cutting, Derecktor has been able to leverage its extensive aluminum and custom fabrication experience to build some of the most highly refined high-speed lightweight ferry designs in the U.S. “We already use Tribon for most of our commercial projects," says Higgins. "[U.K. naval architect] Nigel Gee does our parts generation. We’re also using technologies like virtual engine room. The digital file provides a high degree of accuracy.” Such accuracy allows Derecktor to perform modular construction and separately fabricate complex shapes-such as waterjet tunnels-prior to installation to reduce cost and speed delivery. The first project for Derecktor Connecticut is a 150 ft aluminum sailing yacht-the largest of its kind built in the U.S.—for a “well-known American businessman.” Designed by German Frers and with a cherry wood, raised panel interior by John Munford, this megayacht has a carbon fiber sloop rig measuring almost 200 feet. Joinery work for the yacht is being carried out in Mamaroneck using a lightweight hollow-core technique that results in considerable savings.
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