SALISBURY, Md.- More jobs are coming to Salisbury after a company called American Cruise Lines announced the construction of 12 new ships, and that construction would be at the Chesapeake Shipbuilding in Salisbury. Chesapeake Shipbuilding Corp. President Steven McGee says it's growth the city can enjoy.
“I think that for us, we live here and we’re local, we’re proud of that. And we like what we build and we enjoy the challenge and I think that within the area there's a lot of additional industries who will make contracts with us they’re going to grow as a result of this kind of growth,” said McGee.
“This vessel is gonna be small enough to operate on the inner coastal highways from all throughout New England waters down through Florida, off shore, it could run rivers it could run West Coast and it's going to carry 109 to 110 people plus a crew of about 50,” said McGee. Despite the excitement surrounding the big project, McGee says the nation-wide struggles of the labor shortage have been a challenge. McGee says he needs to double the workforce, in large part due to the 12 new ships.
Each of the 12 ships will be 241 feet long and 56 feet wide. These dimensions can accommodate 109 passengers and 50 crew members.
“It’s a struggle anywhere I think for any industry our especially even in a good year you know we have a need for specialized skills and it’s a challenge for sure,” said McGee. “Most of our work force comes from here on the Eastern Shore and we've had good success. We intend to double our workforce just about. And that’s welders pipefitters plumbers elections industrial panthers metal fabricators all variety of different traders that we do.”
The challenges don't stop at the labor shortage. Getting materials has also been difficult.
“It doesn’t matter if it’s coming from nearby in the states or across the country or components that had to be built and shipped in the united states but across the board wait times are longer prices have increased some things aren't available some companies didn’t make it through the pandemic and we’ve had to find other suppliers”
McGee says their goal is to build three boats each year in addition to any other projects.
