Everett Ship Repair LLC (ESR) operational expansion plans continue with the shipyard buying a second drydock and a crane barge. ESR recently purchased the drydock Zidell 220, renaming it the Emerald Lifter, in tribute to Puget Sound also known as the Emerald Sea. The drydock with lifting capacity of 2,000 tons and working deck area of 220'x62' will be relocated to the ESR facility at the Port of Everett, Wash.
ESR will also bring in a 150-ton Link Belt LS518 lattice boom crawler crane with 150' boom and will position the crane on a 180'x49' barge, which will service both drydocks. Currently ESR owns and operates the Faithful Servant, a 430'x110', 8,000-ton capacity drydock; and with the new acquisition of the Emerald Lifter, ESR will offer services to a wider range of vessels.
The combination of the two drydocks lends itself well to serving ATBs as it can now serve both tug and barge in the two drydocks simultaneously, company officials said. The Emerald Lifter will provide services to both the commercial and government market segments with a focus on tugboats, fishing vessels and other workboats.
The Emerald Lifter will be in operation by early spring 2022 and immediately serve the drydock needs of vessels on the U.S. West Coast. The expansion will significantly enhance ESR’s capabilities as well as create new jobs within the region.
“The expansion of capacity at Everett Ship Repair allows us, in combination with Nichols Brothers Boat Builders, to provide unparalleled services to the marine industry in the Puget Sound and surrounding areas,” Gavin Higgins, ESR’s and Nichols Brothers’ CEO, said in a prepared statement. “Our combined history goes back to the 1960s and carries a long legacy of ship construction and ship repair.”
