Jamaica charts new course in ship repairs with HEART-GSRJ pact

Colonel (ret’d) Martin Rickman, CEO of German Ship Repair Jamaica (GSRJ) Limited, has enough faith that Jamaicans can take on huge vessels in multiples for repairs and renovation in Kingston.

After vast years of experience from being in the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) to creating Jamaica’s first floating dock in Harbour View, St Andrew, Rickman signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on behalf of the company with the HEART/NSTA Trust on September 3 to bring his dream of having ships being repaired in the island by Jamaicans a reality.

Rickman’s vision was further realised on Thursday when the Kinaros ship was dry-docked at GSRJ. The ongoing repairs include hull cleaning, blasting, painting, engine repairs, tank cleaning, welding, and more. The maintenance work is expected to be completed within 18 days.

“Instead of us having the usual cry of a brain drain in Jamaica, what the partnership between HEART/NSTA Trust and GSRJ is doing is, in effect, a ‘brain gain’ to have more and more Jamaicans be trained and certified in very high standards,” Rickman told The Gleaner.

This Kinaros ship would not be the first ship being repaired by GSRJ. Since they started work in November 2023, eight vessels have dry-docked, with some HEART participants helping in the repairs. However, this is the first vessel that is being repaired since the signing of the MOU.

Rickman said it is difficult to put an exact number of Jamaicans who can be trained per year by the GSRJ, but at the moment, about 15 persons trained by HEART/NSTA Trust are part of the team.

“We are looking to expand that number with more vessels. The truth is, too, that the better they perform to make the shipyard more efficient – because everything in the shipping world is about timing – the faster that will happen. The ships want to come in, get repaired, and go within a specified period, so it’s one thing to have the expertise to do the work, but it’s another thing to do it in the required time that is necessary,” Rickman told The Gleaner.

“On any given day, there are over 16,000 ships operating within the Caribbean and the Central American region. We just want 30 of those ships per year,” he said.

Rickman suggests that having foreign ships repaired in Jamaica could lead to significant cost savings. Similarly, ships owned in Jamaica, primarily by the Jamaica Defence Force Coast Guard or the Port Authority of Jamaica, could be dry-docked locally rather than being sent abroad, as they typically are to places like Jacksonville or Florida in the United States or Suriname.

“It costs money to send these vessels to these places. What we in effect are doing is providing a much cheaper alternative for the Jamaican Government to have ships dry- docked here. Normally, when you send ships overseas, you have to send it with a crew, you have to find hotel accommodation whenever they reach, you have to do all manner of things for the vessel while it is there. In this case, they (Jamaican ship owners) have none of those to contend with. Not to mention the cost of sailing the ship every day to get to its destination, because it is a huge cost,” Rickman told The Gleaner.

He is encouraging other industries to pursue similar partnerships with HEART/NSTA Trust.

He said the experience gained by the HEART trainees in the maritime and shipping world would prepare them for certification in the international classification standard for ships.

“This will make it very very good for us here in Jamaica by employing more and more Jamaicans in a brand new industry. It will also be good for the participants of this programme because they will have international certification and will, therefore, be sought after to work all over the world in various shipyards,” he said.

The floating dock at GSRJ is 200 metres, or over 540 feet long, and the Kinaros ship now being repaired is 180 metres long.

“In addition to the dry-docking work, we can also accommodate ships alongside the dock [with] what you call a float or berthing repairs, so the ship would be alongside the dock, and we can send our teams on board to do work on the top side of the vessel or in the engine or electronics or electrical works and so on,” he said.

GSRJ is a joint venture involving Jamaican, German and Turkish interests.

Rickman is encouraging other industries to pursue similar partnerships with HEART/NSTA Trust.

ainsworth.morris@gleanerjm.com