As a Chief Engineer operating an MSC contracted vessel in the Far East I can assure you the regulatory boards like SIRE, USCG and Class attendants are not playing softball with US flagged vessels, it is always a struggle to keep the cargo moving and keep the regulators off our backs when we only have a few days of down time every year.
Add to this headache the fact that our ship was built in China with a 10 year service life and is still running after 15 years, as systems are increasingly complex and expensive, and things become less and less lucrative.
The old days of big well built ships from America that were relatively simple to build and maintain are done but perhaps some “visionary” could reimagine a modern day Liberty ship, simple, reliable, larger crew, quick to build.
The simple way to revitalize American shipyards is to mirror the North American car industry. “American" cars are normally made from foreign modules built in Canada and Mexico, and assembled in America. The car is American because it was assembled in America.
Do the same with ships. Alter the build provision of the Jones Act so that ships assembled America can be made of modules created in Mexico and Central America. Old tech: transporting ship-modules by sea is already being done in Europe and Asia.
Americans do the assembly and the fitting. The modules would be made of foreign steel. But significant amounts of American steel would be used in the assembly process–maybe more than is being used in the few all-American ships being built today.
The American shipyard would make less per ship, but more than make it up in the number of units delivered.
Side effect: increased employment in Mexico and Central America, perhaps leading to less migration.
The hardest part is for all the companies and organizations who have a stake one way or the other in the Jones Act to come to a compromise and agreement. Because once there is an intention to amend one part of it, every part, such as cabotage, will be up for grabs.
The Jones Act is a piñata. You better have a plan on how to share the candy once you break it open, or there will be a mad scramble and black eyes.
SIRE vetters don’t care about the flag or crew, they do their job the same. One Indian SIRE vetter in Singapore told me US owners like to say SIRE is too strict but he reminded me the Exxon Valdez was the contributing factor in that. I couldn’t argue with the man. Class surveyors outside the USA are far more stringent in my experience (ABS in particular). I have met few strict American ABS surveyors but plenty more by the book when overseas. USCG, well I have never dealt with them outside the USA. I can say it is a night and day comparison to how USCG treats foreign vs. US flag ships after being on board for countless annuals on US ships and PSC inspections for foreign. USCG has issued detentions for small section of missing lagging on a steam pipe (a few inches in length), for steering repeater having 1.5 degree error from actual (ship was on maiden voyage from Korea), even cracked plastic covers on lights (they found one and said to fix it, when they found a second one in totally different area they issued a detention). I wish I was exaggerating. All small issues that were rectified before they even left the vessel, but once a detention is ordered then Class surveyor must attend (or remote survey) which costs time and money. I’d chalk it up to the surveyor having a bad day but these occurred in different ports on different ships at different times in 2020-2022. If there is a new Commander for local sector it usually means he/she is out to make a name for themselves and instructs their teams to bring the fine tooth comb. In their defense, they do reference the ISM for every non-conformity, with “suggestions” verbally conveyed or written on a separate piece of paper. USCG has bit us too many times that we have a Vessel Manager attend on arrival for any ship calling on US ports. One time DNV was attending for annuals and USCG boarded 5 minutes before them. I knew the attending DNV surveyor on a personal level (former classmate) and he told me he would return later as we would have our hands full. When he returned the next morning he asked for PSCI report (fortunately it was clean, but the separate list given to Captain/Chief was exhaustive) and he told us the new Commander was making life difficult, so if USCG found no deficiencies, he was not going to make the crew repeat all same exercises. Easiest annuals I did, but by easy I would put it on par with “normal” annuals I did on US flag ships as Chief. I know we all have good/bad stories - this is only my observation as a Fleet Manager of a foreign-flag ship manager.
Simple and quick ships will never be built again, at least large commercial ships. Japanese built is the closest to “simple” you will find, and they do build a first-rate quality ship. Korean and Chinese built are not complicated, at least for the standard tankers, container ships, and gas carriers I worked with. EEXI/EEDI/CII…all is spelling the end for quick and simple. More and more technology is going into machinery and ship design which is going to make many manufacturers and oversight bodies rich at the cost of more headaches to the seafarer and ship manager. All of this applies to any potential ships built in the US or otherwise qualifying for the US flag and trading international. I love simple ships - easy for the crew and easy for the ship manager. I think the whole Annex VI emissions revisions are asinine and overboard, but the industry has tried to fight it to no avail. In a way it is like promoting the Jones Act…the general public is fed info on how much ships pollute without the other side of the story stating pollution per ton/mile. Like the JA, the public is fed disinformation with rebuttals falling on deaf ears.
I spoke with an ex-shipyard worker a few years ago. He had worked at the repair yard and drydock in Boston. As he noted, he was making about 70k/yr, but given the nature of his job, he qualified as a journeyman pipefitter and millwright ans also as an experienced apprentice carpenter and cabinetmaker, all trades that pay far more than a yardbird makes in Boston. He left to go be a boilermaker for some company that paid him 180k to work in Hawaii, Ireland, Iceland, Equador and Poland, on a 4 month on-4 off schedule of 5 12hr days.
The labor issues, salary and instability all play a part.
You mean like this?:
NW European yards mostly get hulls built in East European, Turkish or Chinese yards and towed or dry transported to their main yard(s) for outfitting and commissioning:
Hull from China to Norway:
Inland barge hull from Vietnam to the Netherlands:
PS> Are there existing yards in Mexico and Central America that could suite, or would it require setting up yards for the purpose? (Or use E.European/Turkish/Asian yards)
Another CSOV hull is on the wat from Vard Braila, Romania to Vard Søviknes, Norway:
She is one of four ordered by Rem Offshore. Two will have hulls from Vard Braila, two will be built at Vard Vung Tau.
Here is the launch:
