MARAD Small Shipyard Grants mean a lot to Steve Williams and many others.
May 16, 2013 – Department of Transportation
America’s maritime industry is critical to our nation’s economy. Federal investments in our ports and shipyards not only help keep goods moving for farmers and manufacturers; with more than 107,000 jobs in the U.S. shipbuilding and repairing industry, our investments also make a big difference to workers nationwide.
For example, when our Maritime Administration awarded more than $150 million to help foster modern, globally competitive shipyards through its Small Shipyard Grant Program, we put men and women to work in good jobs.
![General Ship Repair Baltimore At Work](http://generalshiprepair.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/SteveWilliam-at-the-yard-300x225.jpg)
One of those workers is Steve Williams, a ship fitter with four decades of experience. He entered the industry in 1973 after a stint as a paratrooper in the U.S. Army Airborne:
“I was laid off in 2009 after more than 35 years of steady work, ” Steve said. “I was in Pascagoula, Mississippi, and the opportunities just weren’t there. You can’t imagine the sudden uncertainty–almost as bad as jumping out of a plane.
“Not one to be down and out, I took my talents, and my wife, to Texas to look for work–a search that proved unsuccessful. So, I took work in Maryland as a laborer for a bathroom renovation company. I felt like I was 21 again, just rolling out of the Army–I had no experience, and I was drawing a pretty low wage. “I did some research on ship work in Maryland and found General Ship Repair Corporation. Until that point, they had not been hiring, but I submitted an application anyway.
“Then, the shipyard got a grant from the Maritime Administration to build a new drydock, and suddenly they were looking for workers. In March, 2010, I was hired.
![General Ship Repair Baltimore](http://generalshiprepair.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/New-Drydock-Construction-300x202.jpg)
“Once we got the drydock built, General needed people to help them with the work the new drydock brought in. So they took me on.
“Finally, I was back doing the kind of work I had been trained to do, the work I was best at. And now that I’ve been with General Ship Repair for three years, I can’t imagine myself anywhere else. I am truly grateful to the management at General.
“I’m also grateful to MARAD –all of us are– for the grant that helped make it happen.
“Like I said, I was out there trying to find work and had even been willing to take a low-paying job in an entirely new state. But it was MARAD’s investment in General Ship Repair that turned things around. It gave the company the ability to attract a new line of business and expand their operations.
“That grant created good jobs for me and my coworkers; it means something to a lot of people.”
![General Ship Repair Baltimore Ship fitter](http://generalshiprepair.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Ship-Fitter-at-Work-300x255.jpg)