Tag Archives: port of bremerton

SAFE Boats lands $48M U.S. Customs contract

Bremerton-based SAFE Boats International will build up to 52 Coastal Interceptor Vehicles under a new contract for U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

SAFE.interceptor — Coastal Interceptor Vehicle (Courtesy image)

The contract is valued at more than $48 million, according to a news release.

The 41-foot Coastal Interceptors designed to chase down suspect boats, and serve as a platform for officers to perform searches and seizures.

The vessels are highly maneuverable and can reach speeds of more than 54 knots over open ocean.

“We are gratified to be selected and entrusted with this program by the Department of Homeland Security Customs and Border Protection”, SAFE Boats President Dennis Morris said in the release. “We understand how critical their mission is and believe that the SAFE Boats CIV will insure effective mission execution for years to come.”

SafeBoats03_12483660_ver1.0_640_480 — Dennis Morris (MEEGAN REID /KITSAP SUN)

The interceptors are similar to a center-console vessels SAFE Boats has already produced for the Royal Bahamian Police, Colombian Navy and private owners.

With the addition of the Customs contract, SAFE Boats is now working on three projects for the federal government, including a series of small, “Over-the-Horizon” vessels for the Coast Guard, and larger Mk VI patrol boats for the Navy, which are being produced in Tacoma.

With the award of CIV, SAFE Boats is now delivering 3 major US Federal programs including the USCG Over-the-Horizon (OTH) and the US Navy Mk VI High Speed Patrol Boat.

SAFE Boats employs about 190 workers at its Port of Bremerton manufacturing facility, where it recently renewed its lease.

Port of Bremerton lands clean energy startup

Tad Sooter

The Port of Bremerton has inked a lease agreement with a clean energy company it hopes will power future job growth in Kitsap County.

The tenant is SuperCritical Technologies Inc., a 3-year-old startup organized with the modest goal of revolutionizing the energy sector.

“It’s a massive market,” SuperCritical CEO Craig Husa said during a presentation to the port commission Tuesday night. “We’ve got great technology that disrupts that massive market.”

The startup has developed power plants that harness supercritical Co2, rather than traditional steam, to power turbines and generate electricity.

A key advantage of the technology is it’s compact. SuperCritical claims it can produce a 5-megawatt plant small enough to fit in a 40-foot shipping container.

The company’s systems can be used to convert waste heat at industrial facilities into electricity, which can help offset the facility’s power needs.

For now, SuperCritical is a scrappy startup with a tiny team. Its leaders see unlimited potential for growth.

“This is one of the reason’s we’re excited to be here at the Port of Bremerton,” Husa said. “We’ve got great space, we’ve got potential to grow, there’s a potential labor force that’s strong in the area, we’ve got access to shipping… it’s really is an awesome place for us to be.”

All of this was music to the ears of port officials.

“This is something we could see growing really big,” port CEO Jim Rothlin said. “… we talk about trying to find what’s going to be our niche here. This could possibly be our niche… nowhere else has this kind of thing.”

SuperCritical is starting small at the port. The company has agreed to lease a 6,000-square-foot building in Olympic View Industrial Park for $2,880 a month. The initial term is for two years, with the option for 10 two-year extensions.

The port is obligated to install a security fence in January 2016 and upgrade the building’s electrical system. The cost of those improvements is estimated at $53,000.

The full lease agreement is embedded below.

We’ll have a full story on SuperCritical technologies soon. In the meantime, you can read a Puget Sound Business Journal Q&A with company officials here.

SuperCritical Lease

Triton Marine awarded $10M Navy job

Tad Sooter

Triton Marine Construction Corp. of Bremerton has been selected to complete $9.9 million in work at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard & Intermediate Maintenance Facility.

The work will be completed under a previously-awarded contract for construction of a dry dock water treatment system, according to a release from the Department of Defense.

Triton will build infrastructure at three dry docks necessary to bring the shipyard into compliance with environmental standards for capturing and treating water used for industrial processes.

The Navy received four proposals for the work. Construction will be completed in the fall of 2016.

The Bremerton contractor recently moved its headquarters to Constance Road in the Port of Bremerton’s Olympic View Industrial Park. Triton moved to Kitsap from Houston in 1999.

SAFE Boats delivering patrol vessels to Tunisia

Tad Sooter

Two boats built in Bremerton will soon be roving off the Mediterranean coast of Africa.

SAFE Boats International recently announced the completion of a pair of 65-foot patrol boats for the Tunisian Navy. One boat already arrived in Tunisia. A second is being delivered.

According to a news release, the boats feature dual 1,600 horse-power diesel engines, shock absorbing seating, climate controlled cabins and navigation equipment. They can reach speeds in excess of 40 knots (nearly 50 mph).

The boats will help the Tunisian Navy conduct search-and-rescue missions and extended offshore patrols.

SAFE Boats’ products already make up a healthy portion of Tunisia’s fleet. The company has previously delivered 20 vessels to the Tunisian Navy, ranging from 25 to 44 feet long.

“We are extremely honored to be a continuing part of the Tunisian Navy and providing products that allow their personnel to accomplish the challenging missions they face.”, SAFE Boats CEO Dennis Morris said in the release.

The 65 foot boats are among the largest vessels SAFE Boats has built at its Port of Bremerton facility. The boats were fabricated in temporary hangars outside the main plant.

SAFE Boats lease extension is a done deal

Tad Sooter

Port of Bremerton commissioners approved lease extensions Tuesday night for SAFE Boats International, the port’s largest industrial tenant.

Though the rough terms of the deal had been hammered out months ago, commissioners were clearly elated to have the agreement formalized. SAFE Boats employs nearly 200 workers in the port’s Olympic View Industrial Park.

“We’re very proud to have a relationship with SAFE Boats, and to have you in our industrial park,” Commissioner Axel Strakeljahn said. “At the end of the day it’s about the people who live in our community and the people who work at safe boats.”

SAFE Boats CEO Dennis Morris (pictured above) thanked the port for crafting lease extensions that meets the company’s changing needs.

safeboats “I think we’ve reached an agreement that will work for all of us,” Morris said.

The extensions lock in SAFE Boats as a tenant through mid 2017. After that, the manufacturer has the option of signing one-year extensions for up to four successive years on any or all of the four properties it leases.

The agreement requires a generous nine-month notice if SAFE Boats decides to not renew a lease.

The variable terms of the lease extensions could help SAFE Boats scale up or down to meet fluctuating demand for its small military and law enforcement boats.

“It does give us that flexibility in this dynamic business environment we find ourselves in,” Morris said.

As I reported last week, the agreement also gives SAFE Boats a steep discount on rent, to the tune of about $200,000 a year, or 41 percent.

SAFE Boats has leased space at the Port of Bremerton since 2000. The company is manufacturing a line of larger patrol boats at a Port of Tacoma facility.

With its main leases in Bremerton expiring at the end of June, SAFE Boats executives had looked for a way of consolidating operations. A search for suitable industrial space in Kitsap didn’t yield a ready solution

The company had the option of relocating its entire operation to the Port of Tacoma, but finally opted to stay in Bremerton.

With SAFE Boats sticking around, the Port of Bremerton’s industrial buildings are are largely full. The port still has a large number of vacant industrial pads it needs to find tenants for.

Commissioners may discuss a plan for creating spec buildings to attract more tenants at their next meeting.

SAFE Boats lease extension documents are embedded below: Continue reading →

Port of Bremerton to award $2M road project

Tad Sooter

The Port of Bremerton is poised to award a $1.97 million contract to extend its Cross SKIA Connector Road to Old Clifton Road.

The low bidder for the project WHH Nisqually Federal Services, LLC., a tribally-owned enterprise based in Olympia. The company’s bid came in just under the engineer’s estimate for the work, according to a port staff memo.

The port commission is set to approve the award at its Tuesday meeting. A breakdown of the bid is embedded below.

The port received a $2 million allocation from Puget Sound Regional Council for this phase of the connector road, and budgeted $345,800 of its own cash.

The existing connector road extends south off Highway 3 and runs along the east edge of Bremerton National Airport.

Phase 2.1 will extend the existing connector road by about 3,000 to meet Old Clifton Road (click the inset map to enlarge it). Contractors will also build a roundabout to accomodate future road extensions.

Work is expected to begin in June and be completed within 80 days.

The port considers the connector road critical for encouraging growth in the industrial and aerospace acreage surrounding the airport. You can read its pitch to the Regional Council here (PDF).

The area was previously called South Kitsap Industrial Area (SKIA), but was recently renamed Puget Sound Industrial Center-Bremerton (PSIC-B).

SKIA Bid Award by Tad Sooter

Harper Pier reopening set for Jan. 16

Tad Sooter

A new-and-improved Harper Pier should open to the public by the middle of next month.

A ribbon cutting is set for 10 a.m. Jan. 16. U.S. Rep. Derek Kilmer will attend.

Contractors hoped to have the new dock ready by the end of the year. But Port of Bremerton Facilities Maintenance Manager Lamarr Wright said progress has been slowed because a shipment of electrical fixtures hasn’t arrived.

The delivery was held up by the labor disputes disrupting shipping at Puget Sound ports. The same labor disputes forced container ships to anchor off South Kitsap this winter.

So it’s possible the electrical fixtures for Harper Pier were bobbing just offshore…

container ship Wright said Harper Pier is still on track to be completed by Jan. 15, within the original projected timeline for the $1.3 million project.

The Friends of Harper Pier page on Facebook is a good place to keep up on Harper news and find lots of cool pictures of the new structure.

(LARRY STEAGALL / KITSAP SUN PHOTOS)

Port earns award for financial reporting

Tad Sooter

The Port of Bremerton was awarded its fourth consecutive Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting, an award that recognizes the agency’s effort to “clearly communicate its financial story to its users.”

The certificate is awarded by the Government Finance Officers Association.

“The Port of Bremerton has gone above and beyond the basic financial reporting requirements to produce a quality report of their financial position,” said association board member Ade Ariwoola, who presented the certificate at a port commission meetingTuesday.

“The citizens and users that the port of bremerton serves should be proud of the commitment and dedication of the finance department staff, chief executive officer, and commissioners who contributed to this report.”

The port’s financial reporting efforts are led by CFO Becky Swanson, overseen by CEO Jim Rothlin. You can find more information on port finances here.

Documents shed some light on port controversy

Tad Sooter

There’s no need to devote much more copy to last week’s Port of Bremerton Commission controversy.

After talking to state officials this week it’s pretty clear there won’t be any formal inquiries into whether commissioners violated the Open Public Meetings Act, outside of routine auditing.

Commission President Roger Zabinski has apologized for the way he brought his concerns to the table. The episode will probably blow over.

Before I leave this topic alone, however, I want to share a couple of documents and context I’ve collected over the last week, which shed some light on the issues Zabinski was initially trying to raise.

Zabinksi was concerned emails and phone calls made between Port CEO Jim Rothlin and commissioners outside of a public meeting constituted a “serial meeting,” which would violate the Open Public Meetings Act. It also appears the email from Rothlin and response from commissioners bordered on “polling,” which can violate the act.

First, here’s the Oct. 29 email sent by Rothlin to the commissioners asking whether they wanted to keep a tax levy increase in the 2015 budget.

Rothlin sent the email after a lengthy Oct. 28 preliminary budget workshop (see this story for more background).

Strakeljahn was the only commissioner who replied by email. Stokes had called Rothlin earlier in the day (prompting the email above). Zabinski called Rothlin after receiving the email. Continue reading →

Bremerton airport hopes to land big aviation event

Tad Sooter

Bremerton National Airport vying for the chance to host an aviation conference that would bring hundreds of planes and pilots to Kitsap County.

Port staff submitted a proposal last week to be considered as a site for a 2015 Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association Fly-In. The fly-ins include exhibits, aerial displays, vendors and food. Last year’s Northwest event was held on Aug. 16 in Spokane.

If it’s selected for a 2015 fly-in, Bremerton National would need to prepare for 500 planes and 900 vehicles, said Fred Salisbury, director of airport operations. AOPA will narrow down a list of finalists in October and announce the host site in December.

Crews are repaving portions of the Bremerton airport this month. Salisbury said the project is ahead of schedule, but the completion date could depend on the weather.