The Aesthetics of a Recapitalized Maritime Industry
it can be done
The post-industrial landscape of America is bleak. From the shuttered textile mills of Lewiston, Maine, to the factories of Michigan to the weed strewn railhead next to abandoned small towns throughout the South, the hedge fund driven offshoring of industry is as ugly to look as it was to the standard of living for blue-collar America.
If you live near any major coastal town, you most likely see the waterfront version of the collapse of the civilian and military shipyard industry across our nation - now just holding on in concentrated pockets.
The waterfront facilities left behind by bad national policy of the last half century, in addition to looking more like the set of The Walking Dead than part of a thriving city, also contribute less to the city’s tax base for both property value and the impact of the good paying jobs shipyards bring with them.
A classic example is right next to the Jacksonville Jaguars’ home stadium in downtown Jacksonville, FL on the beautiful St. Johns River.
Just take a look at her today.
What could a revitalized shipbuilding and maintenance budget and an expanded military and civilian renewal of this industry look like, not just for Jacksonville, but port cities across the USA with similar derelict facilities from a more vibrant age?
Well, our friends from Fincantieri are giving us a little hint;
Fincantieri Marine Repair established a presence in Jacksonville in 2022 to perform maintenance and repairs for vessels stationed nearby in Mayport.
The Commodores Point shipyard facility is on the north bank of the St. Johns River between the Mathews and Hart bridges.
Fincantieri, which has taken over the site previously leased by North Florida Shipyards, is making a $30 million improvement to marine infrastructure, including work to accommodate a 500-foot dry dock.
Italy-based Fincantieri Group, an international shipbuilder, operates in the United States through its subsidiary Fincantieri Marine Systems North America.
Fincantieri Marine Repair LLC is a part of that.
Just $30 million out of a $943 million contract did that in the heart of a city, and in a part of that city, that much of the improvements of the last few decades left behind.
As we’ve covered for years here, one of our nation’s greatest military and economic mistakes of the last few decades is undercapitalizing what should be a cornerstone industry for a maritime nation.
What once was, can be again. With modern systems, it can also be cleaner and with automation and robotics, bring better, safer, higher-paying jobs with it.
More, faster.
The problem is that the US investor class does not want to invest in companies that actually make things. Google and Meta (and other digital companies) have much higher profit margins. The US investor class also does not see the PRC as a threat. They do business with China every day and cannot imagine a Sino-American war.
I remember when China bought the cranes. It was over then.