German Ship Repair Jamaica (GSRJ) Limited has embarked on its second ship-servicing project, this time partnering with ‘The Vikrant Dolphin,’ a diving support barge currently stationed in Kingston’s shipyard.

Speaking during a tour of the GSRJ shipyard on Tuesday, January 16, Senator Aubyn Hill, minister of industry, investment and commerce, expressed confidence in the Government’s support for the burgeoning industry.

He said, “It is a whole new industry here in Jamaica, and it is not just the GSRJ; it is building a whole new set of industries here in Jamaica. This is a new phase in Jamaica’s economy. I am very optimistic about what this dry dock company will do for the economy in Jamaica.”

GSRJ completed restoration and maintenance services for its first client, the heavy-lift vessel ‘Mexican Giant,’ in November 2023. The vessel was serviced at the GSRJ’s 235-meter-long Panamax-size floating dry dock, JAM-DOCK-1, anchored at the shipyard along the Sir Florizel Glasspole Highway stretch of the Kingston Harbour.

Colonel Martin Rickman, CEO of GSRJ, said: “The immediate plan is to finish that construction, which includes a new state-of-the-art workshop for engine and steel fabrication works. Once this portion, which I call phase one of the shipyard, is complete and up and running, we are going to be expanding to build more workshops and, possibly later on in the next couple of years, looking at putting in a second or third floating dock.”

The GSRJ’s first-ever floating dry dock, commissioned in the last quarter of 2023, boasts cutting-edge technology and a highly skilled international workforce, marking a significant milestone in Jamaica’s maritime industry development.