Two Pennsylvania facilities receive maritime grants

Two Pennsylvania facilities are among 31 recipients awarded grants through the federal Maritime Administration (MARAD) Small Shipyard Grant Program.

Grants are to be used for increasing productivity, expanding local employment opportunities, and modernizing infrastructure.

Heartland Fabrication, a Brownsville-based steel fabricator, was awarded $982,954 for the purchase of a robotic welding system. The system will resume a three-year apprentice training program to strengthen its workforce and increase the efficiency of shipbuilding operations.

It will create new job opportunities for robotic welding technicians.

“Heartland Fabrication plays a vital role in supporting the inland waterways transportation system in Fayette County,” U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey (R-PA) said. “I was glad to support the application by Heartland Fabrication and am confident these funds will support their mission to create new career opportunities for robotic welding technicians.”

Toomey wrote a letter supporting the grant application.

Philly Shipyard in Philadelphia will receive $720,000 to resume a three-year apprentice training program that will increase the efficiency of shipbuilding operations and strengthen its workforce.

Nationwide, $19.6 million in grants were awarded to 31 small shipyards in 15 states. MARAD’s Small Shipyard Grant Program has awarded $262.5 million to nearly 300 shipyards in 32 states and territories nationwide since 2008.