St. Johns Ship Building, a leading Florida-based shipyard owned by Americraft Marine, announced the award of its first U.S. Navy shipbuilding contract to construct a Dive Support Vessel (DSV). This significant milestone underscores the shipyard’s growing capability and alignment with national efforts to enhance domestic maritime industrial capacity, as championed by the SHIPS for America Act.
The new DSV will serve critical operational roles for the U.S. Navy, including support for specialized diving and underwater support, operations, and training. The award of this contract represents a further example of St. Johns Ship Building’s ongoing commitment to expanding its capabilities and contributing meaningfully to America’s naval preparedness and national security.
“Securing our first contract with the U.S. Navy is a tremendous achievement and reflects the dedication, talent, and hard work of our entire team,” stated Joe Rella, President of St. Johns Ship Building. “This milestone not only highlights our shipyard’s capacity to meet the demanding standards required by the Navy but also aligns with the broader vision of Americraft Marine. We’re proud to support the objectives in the SHIPS for America Act to expand and revitalize the U.S. shipbuilding industry.”
St. Johns Ship Building and Americraft Marine continue to be at the forefront of efforts to strengthen Jones Act-compliant shipbuilding, promote maritime sustainability, and create enduring industrial jobs in the United States. This contract award further exemplifies the collaborative public-private efforts to ensure the U.S. maintains a robust and self-sufficient maritime industrial capability.
St. Johns Ship Building (SJSB), a HUBZone Certified Small Business, is a leading U.S. shipyard specializing in constructing and repairing Jones Act-compliant aluminum and steel vessels. Based in Palatka, Florida, the yard constructs crew transfer vessels, ferries, tugboats, landing crafts, and barges. It is one of the few U.S. shipyards actively supporting offshore wind farm service and construction.
In June 2022, St. Johns Ship Building was acquired by Americraft Marine, a subsidiary of Libra Group.
Following its acquisition, St. Johns Ship Building initially positioned itself to capitalize on growth opportunities in the U.S. renewable energy sector, particularly in the offshore wind development sector. In 2022, the U.S. Coast Guard designated offshore wind vessels as “vessels of national interest,” aiming to accelerate their construction through priority financing. As a result, St. Johns Ship Building’s strategic positioning at the time received support from the U.S. Coast Guard.
However, in January 2025, shortly after taking office, U.S. President Donald Trump issued an order to suspend the development of offshore wind energy projects on the U.S. continental shelf, marking a significant deviation from the wind energy goals set by the previous Biden administration. During the Biden administration, the U.S. had planned to achieve 30 GW of offshore wind energy capacity by 2030 and 15 GW of floating offshore wind energy capacity by 2035.
This move by the Trump administration dealt a significant blow to some shipyards in the U.S. that had set offshore wind projects as strategic goals, prompting these shipyards to accelerate their strategic transformations.