Fincantieri Begins Work in Northeast Florida

JACKSONVILLE, FLA. – Fincantieri Marine Repair, a division of Fincantieri Marine Systems  North America (FMSNA), welcomed its first commercial customer to Commodores Point in  downtown Jacksonville last week, marking the start of operations in northeast Florida.  

FMSNA announced last month that they were ready to provide repair and maintenance services  to military, commercial, and large private vessels on the East Coast beginning in 2022. And a  few days into 2022 and the team at FMSNA is already busy with a 340-ft. commercial vessel. 

According to Ryan Smith, FMSNA’s President and CEO, the response from the community has  been encouraging following their announcement in December.  

“The feedback from the community and many in the maritime industry has been encouraging  and positive,” said Ryan Smith. “We are excited to get to work now for our commercial  customers, but we also are investing millions of dollars in waterfront improvements, like a large  U.S.-Navy approved dry dock, which will allow us to be a top-tier marine repair operation for  military and government vessels as well.” said Smith.  

The first customer is special to any business, but in this case there is more to it: the first vessel  is the recently-competed LNG barge Clean Canaveral, which was built by another Fincantieri  shipyard, Bay Shipbuilding in Sturgeon Bay, Wisc. The team at Fincantieri Marine Repair will  now provide testing and trials for the Clean Canaveral

Fincantieri’s head of U.S. operations, Dario Deste, congratulated the FMSNA team and  emphasized the importance of growing the sustainment effort in the U.S. “We have a  collaborative ‘system of yards’ approach with our Wisconsin shipyards to gain efficiencies and  create value for our customers,” said Deste. “And in the same way, we intend to leverage our  global sustainment capacity to support customers and to be a partner for the entire lifecycle of  these vessels.”  

Deste added, “The U.S. Navy wanted additional maintenance and sustainment support for  Fincantieri-built military ships homeported in nearby Mayport, and that’s what we’ve done. But  there are other military, government and commercial customers who need sustainment help as  well, especially in the southeastern U.S.”  

With FMSNA’s expansion in northeast Florida, Smith plans to employ more than 300 men and  women over the next three years. These jobs include positions in pipefitting, shipfitting, welding,  electrical, outfitting, preservation, and mechanical specializations.  

For information on how to join the growing team at Fincantieri, please visit  https://www.fincantierimarinesystems.com/portal/jobs.