Tuckahoe Shipyard Receives $961K Grant

TUCKAHOE — John C. Yank Jr., president of Yank Marine Inc., announced the award of a grant to Yank Marine Inc. in the amount of $961,676 from the Maritime Administration under the Assistance to Small Shipyards Grant Program
According to Yank, this grant will be used to purchase a new 300 metric ton Marine Travelift for his commercial shipyard that has been in operation for more than 40 years in Tuckahoe, New Jersey.
This new lift will be purchased to replace the existing 200-metric ton Marine Travelift and it will increase the yard’s efficiency by saving many man-hours of labor. It will also free up their 600-ton marine railway, and in doing so, will afford them the ability to accept additional job opportunities that they were previously forced to reject due to lack of time and space on the rails.
Once this new 300- metric ton lift is in operation, Yank expects to hire additional personnel to service an increased number of vessels that will arrive for repairs utilizing this larger lift. Since Yank Marine Inc. is one of only three commercial shipyards located in the State of New Jersey, their success and growth is essential to not only the commercial fishing industry, but to the recreational fishing, the charter/passenger vessel, the marine construction, and the water transportation industries within the State.
Yank Marine Inc. (www.yankmarine.com) is located in Upper Township, and its unique location on the Tuckahoe River places the shipyard on the border between Cape May and Atlantic counties. Yank Marine presently employs residents of Cape May, Atlantic, and Cumberland counties so the installation of a 300-metric ton lift at the Tuckahoe facility will not only increase business revenues for Cape May County, but these surrounding counties as well.
In addition, this installation will also require the dismantling and relocation of the existing 200-metric ton lift to the affiliate company, Yank Marine Services LLC (www. yankmarineservices.com) located in Dorchester.
The installation of this 200 metric ton lift at Yank Marine Services will greatly increase their lifting capacity and allow them to service many new customers, including numerous commercial fishing vessels working out of New Jersey’s six major ports that are currently unable to access Yank Marine Inc. due to either the water depth of the Tuckahoe River or the obstructions presented by the four bridges that they are required to navigate in order to reach this facility.
Once this 200-metric ton lift is placed into operation, it will create as many as 25-35 permanent job positions in Cumberland County, currently the most economically distressed county in the State of New Jersey, having a positive effect on the local economy.
In addition to Yank’s plan to relocate his 200- metric ton lift to Yank Marine Services, Yank is also pleased to confirm that his affiliate company will continue to move forward with its plan to purchase and install a 600-metric ton Marine Travelift in their Dorchester yard.
The Maurice River’s unobstructed deep water access and a 600-metric ton lift will allow Yank Marine Services to draw a large number of commercial vessels for service and repair from within a 300 mile radius of this location. Currently, these larger vessels are forced to travel to shipyards located in Virginia or Connecticut in order to be hauled out.