12 APRIL 2018 • FOGHORN FOGHORNFOCUS: SHIPBUILDING M A DE IN THE U. S . A . Introducing the LUXHelm ThelatestadditiontoourCaptainSeatingrange,theLUXHelmisaseat ofcomfortandadjustability.Withaselectionofarmsandaccessories, weoffercustomsolutions tosuityourrequirements. TestedtoHSC IMOHSCCode2000Annex10certifiedupto3G. Height adjustment | 360° swivel | Fore & aft slide | Flip up footrest Premium Captain Seats We install and offer extended warranties on our entire collection. Ask us today! shipbuilders alike. The ferry and water taxi markets are booming in many areas, while other types of vessels— excursion/sightseeing, eco-tours/ whale watching, small overnight ships and dinner boats—are also being built in shipyards around the nation. That growth has brought back to PVA some shipbuilders that had pursued other industries, including contracts for gov- ernment ships and off-shore oil and gas projects. Other shipbuilders whose bread and butter comes from the passenger vessel industry are happily and busily building new vessels at their shipyards to meet the demand. Some challenges facing the two industries are the impact the Trump Administration’s steel and aluminum tariffs may have (see page 28 for more on this issue), and the implementation of the Environmental ProtectionAgency’s Tier 4 emission standards for certain marine engines. FOGHORN spoke with several shipbuilders, all current PVAAssociate members—to discover the state of the shipbuilding industry today and how it impacts passenger vessel operators. Peter Duclos, President and Director of Business Development, Gladding- Hearn Shipbuilding, Somerset, MA Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding has been a leader in passenger vessel construction for decades. How many passenger vessels has Gladding-Hearn built to date? We’ve built and delivered 42 high- speed catamarans. Would you say that you specialize in high-speed commuter ferries? No, I really wouldn’t. It’s true that Gladding-Hearn builds a lot of commuter ferries as well as tourism- related high-speed catamarans. But, we also have built whalewatching and sightseeing vessels. I expect that we will continue to build these types of passenger vessels for our customers. From your perspective, how is the shipbuilding business going now? It’s going very well for us. We are extremely fortunate to have an 80 to 90 percent repeat customer response, so we haven’t ever experienced a downturn in our business. I know that not all shipbuilders can say that, but we’ve been very lucky in that regard. In all honesty, we’ve turned down some projects that we did not feel was a good fit for us, opting instead to work on projects that better suit our experience. Where do you see the passenger vessel industry and shipbuilding going from here? It’s hard to predict the future, but we’ve had a very steady business building the types of passenger vessels