Over the decades, global competition has pushed shipbuilding in the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway region away from building new ships to providing repair and maintenance services.
Yet “the region’s core industrial assets and manufacturing competencies remain strong,” say researchers who surveyed the region’s shipbuilding and maritime industry. “Across shipyards, suppliers, and vessels, the evidence points to an underutilized but strategically significant industrial corridor.”
The Conference of Great Lakes St. Lawrence Governors and Premiers (GSGP) commissioned the University of Michigan’s School of Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering, Ann Arbor, Mich., to conduct what they called “a foundational capacity study … to advance a new regional shipbuilding initiative that could revitalize and expand the region’s industrial base and create jobs.”…