11 September 2019
Fairlead Integrated has acquired the 12.5-acre site of the former Ocean Marine and Yacht Center on the southern branch of the Elizabeth River in Portsmouth, Virginia and will convert it into a facility to repair and maintain equipment and systems onboard U.S. Navy ships. The company presently owns a shipyard in Newport News and a large shop in Portsmouth also to service naval vessels.
Dry stack storage of yachts, a mainstay of Ocean Marine, will continue on the site with the company’s former owner, James Bento, as manager of that aspect of the firm. The other buildings on the acreage however will be dedicated to military ships. “We believe there has never been a more promising time to be part of ship construction for the US Navy,” says Fairlead CEO Jerry Miller. “This acquisition coupled with our past performance and the investments we have made in people, processes, and facilities have positioned us to realize a vision to be a larger supplier to support ‘The Navy the Nation Needs.’”
The property boasts a 1,250-ton NAVSEA-certified syncrolift capable of hauling vessels up to 235’ in length. Coupled to the syncrolift are 700 feet of track supporting a ground-level transfer system. There is also a two-bay (250’L x 140’W x 80’H) blast and paint facility, each equipped with a wash down system, overhead and recessed surround lighting, pressurized ventilation system and heated floors for year-round operation. The facility has two piers of 305 and 175 feet respectively, both with deep water access plus three well-equipped, environmentally controlled workshops totaling over 100,000 square feet.
“We are extremely excited about our newest waterfront expansion because it includes such an impressive yard with some of the finest facilities on the East Coast,” says Fred Pasquine, President of Fairlead Integrated. Pasquine adds that the new Fairlead plant will employ 180 – 225 persons once fully operational.
Fairlead Integrated is a veteran-owned, small business supplier of integrated electrical and control systems, large-scale mechanical fabrications and structures, precision machined metal components and subsystems, and advanced mobile containerized products. Fairlead’s products are part of mission critical systems in the U.S. Navy’s Nimitz and Ford-class aircraft carriers, Virginia-class submarines, all classes of surface combatants and amphibious ships including Arleigh Burke Class DDGs, San Antonio Class LPDs and the Littoral Combat Ship, and many classes of support and auxiliary ships of the Military Sealift Command, the Maritime Administration, and the U.S. Coast Guard. Additionally Fairlead provides repair and maintenance services to small boats and craft through its Fairlead Boatworks Division in Newport News, VA. Fairlead Integrated is headquartered in Portsmouth, VA with facilities in Portsmouth and Newport News.