New maintenance and refit yard in Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico Ports Authority and Isla Borinquen LLC have announced the execution of a long-term lease to create San Juan Yacht & Ship, a superyacht maintenance and refit yard at Pier 15 near the Convention Center in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Project highlights include a 196-metre (645-foot) graving/dry dock, use of the 289-metre (950-foot) outfitting pier and 8 acres of uplands to support a variety of yachts and commercial vessels up to 190 metres (625 feet) in length. The dock has water depths greater than 8.8 metres (29 feet). San Juan Yacht & Ship will also invest in a floating dry dock and mobile trolley system to lift and haul yachts and ships on the property and use the 102,000 square feet of buildings which will be renovated on site.

The $15 million (c. €12.6 million) phase one investment and renovation will be completed over a two-year period, however yachts can begin in-water refit in late 2021 while long term improvements are being completed. Site features will include security, 480v 3 phase power, water, sanitary, and a clean working environment. The improvements will also include upgraded offices, crew quarters, tiki-bar and lounge. Superyachts recently utilised the facility in 2015.

The project is projected to create thousands of jobs over a three-year period including many trades, namely welders, electricians, plumbers and carpenters. San Juan Yacht & Ship is planning to work with Escuela Vocacional Miguel Such and local universities to develop a training and apprenticeship programme modelled after similar programs in Florida. 

The superyacht industry has had a substantial expansion over recent years and yacht builders are seeking additional refit locations, including this prime location in the Caribbean, to meet the needs of superyacht owners that travel the traditional navigational routes from the Caribbean in the winter to the Mediterranean in the summer. The yachting industry is projecting an increase from 5,200 yachts greater than 30 metres (100 feet) in length, to 7,500 in 2030.

ISLA has already been approached by several key yacht builders and refit groups to help establish San Juan Yacht & Ship as a leading shipyard, rivalling those in the Mediterranean and quality superyacht yards in South Florida.

The San Juan Yacht & Ship team includes Ronald Schults, PE of Edgewater Resources LLC, and is recognised as one of the most notable waterfront and marina development experts in the world. Schults shares his combined passion for community development, coastal engineering and sailing to focus on projects that help preserve waterways and sustain the economic growth and vitality of waterfront communities across the US and around the world.

It also includes Ivan Rodriguez, a Puerto Rican native and Baseball Hall of Fame Champion, and Mark Payne, a local Puerto Rican businessman with 20 years’ experience in the San Juan ship refit/marine industries on site. Strategic partners include Buddy Haack, of Berth One Palm Beach, and Debora Radke and Daisy Ortiz Lenit of American Yacht Agents. Ortiz Lenit is a Puerto Rican native, and Radke has brought yachts to San Juan in the past as a yacht agent. Nathan Goodwin of All Points Boats has also committed to providing yacht refit services at San Juan Yacht & Ship. Numerous other yacht refit partners will be announced in the coming weeks. These specialists will bring expertise and training to create local jobs at San Juan Yacht & Ship.

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