MAY 16, 2013 —  VT Halter Marine Inc. is boosting ship repair capablities at its south shipyard in Pascagoula, Miss. A 12,000 MT floating dry dock, which has just arrived on a heavy lift vessel from the Philippines, will play an important part in an expansion plan that will see the addition of a repair facility for semi-submersible drilling rigs and Panamax-size ships.

The dry dock's dimensions are LOA 546 ft x B 128.5 ft x D 46 ft. The dry dock is part of an overall expansion plan to the south yard in Pascagoula where VT Halter Marine is adding a repair facility for semi-submersible drilling rigs and Panamax-size ships.

VT Halter Marine says the addition of the dock "will grow the company organically into the ship repair business" and add a new stream of revenue to its existing newbuild business.

VT Halter Marine says the dry dock will also boost U.S. Gulf Coast ship repair capability, as it will be the newest addition to any existing facility in the region.

The company says it will "now be able to service not only the repair needs of its existing newbuild customers, it will also cater to new customers and most likely will more than double its customer base for ship repair business."

VT Halter Marine expects to create as many as 400 new jobs with the development of this new facility. Plans for the expansion include machine shops, electrical shops and the newly delivered dry dock. VT Halter Marine will now have a business model similar to that of its counterpart in Singapore, ST Marine, offering both newbuild and repair capabilities.

"VT Halter Marine is committed to the growth of the local community in Jackson County and with the addition of this new capability will provide a one stop solution to its customers," says CEO Bill Skinner.