FT: “Under the blazing sun of a hot Philadelphia day, Kristian Rokke, chief executive of Aker Philadelphia Shipyard, addresses a crowd of boiler-suited workers, telling them their yard is a rare bright spot for a troubled world shipbuilding industry.” “Mr Rokke tells the crowd – far bigger than it would have been just 18 months ago – that a big new expected order and strong interest in further contracts after that have transformed the yard from “surviving” to “thriving”. Behind them, the parts of one of two crude oil tankers being built for ExxonMobil, the oil major, are taking shape in one of the yard’s graving docks. ….The vessels are being built in the US to comply with the Jones Act, which requires any vessel operating between two US ports to be built in a US shipyard, fly the US flag and employ a US crew. The US industry’s revival comes as many shipyards elsewhere are struggling because of a worldwide oversupply of ships.”
Future Today
