Ben Hayden recently spoke with Kelly Pearson Freund, CEO of Pearlson Shipliftto discuss the company’s latest project with him BAE Systems.
Tell us more about the planning and type of lift system that will be used in the BAE project?
The new BAE Systems project is a $200 million complex in Jacksonville, Florida that will include a new, state-of-the-art ship lift system built by Pearlson Shiplift. When completed, it will easily accommodate a Flight III Navy guided-missile destroyer or a merchant ship of approximately 25,000 tons displacement.
The project is unique because we have been involved since day zero. The design began with the equivalent of a scribble on the back of a napkin. During these initial meetings, the BAE Systems team recognized the need to upgrade their shipyard facility to meet the requirements of the current and future fleet – which is a large part of their market – but also to meet the requirements of other vessels in the area who wanted a service. Their existing dry dock solution had capacity limitations and as such they asked us to design a lift that would allow them to handle future Navy requirements plus any yacht or tug project they had on the horizon.
Looking at the makeup of all the ships BAE Systems wanted to service, the Pearlson Shiplift team designed a single-level transfer system that would allow three full-size Navy ships to be serviced. This gives BAE extreme flexibility in which ship they can take out of the water and service so they don’t have to turn customers away.
Could you provide a timeline of the BAE project (design, construction, various phases, delivery date)?
Our team began this project over five years ago, starting with an initial design to determine viability. Over the next several years, a team of Pearlson engineers provided the design and support the BAE team needed to justify this project to their stakeholders. We just started in April and the project is expected to be completed by the first quarter of 2025.
What are some other projects Pearlson is currently working on in the US?
This is a busy time for us. We are working on the second largest pipeline in the US being built in Wisconsin on Fincantieri. This project also serves the fleet, but this one is for newbuilding launch, not repair and refit. Fincantieri is in the final phase of construction and it it should be operational by the end of this year.
What differentiates ship hoists that are built for a new build yard versus a repair and refit yard?
A shiplifter designed for a newly built shipyard is easier to plan because you have one or a combination of vessels already defined. In other words, the customer knows exactly what ships he is going to build. With new build projects, customers have the dock plans and know when they need to be delivered. If the Navy places an order, the shipyard must fulfill it, and the customer understands the exact ship to launch. While for the renovated shipyard there are many questions: What market are you looking at? Are you after yachts? Do you follow tugboats? Are you chasing Navy ships? The answers to these questions mean that the hoists we design for the repair yards need to be more of a ‘Swiss army knife’. Repair yards need to market potential ships that will arrive at their yard as opposed to a specific ship. This makes it more complicated to make sure you cover all your bases when designing a ship lift for a repair yard.
Pearlson has been around for over 60 years and has completed over 200 installations in 60 countries. Could you walk us through the different transfer systems? Do you have a favorite installation that might be unique to your location?
The concepts for each shiplift are the same. You drop a platform into the water, the boat gets on top of it, transfers it to shore, and the work is done ashore. There are a million variables when it comes to the transfer system chosen, but the biggest one is available land. For a project that has green space and tons of real estate, we’ll recommend a two-level transfer system because it’s reliable and fast. The easiest way to think of it is as a shuttle system. The boat goes to a cradle that rolls on top of the platform, it moves ashore and can then be moved across using a shuttle, then you pull the cradle with the boat on top into its transfer bed to get the job done.
We built a two-level system in Kesennuma, Japan, about five years ago. This is a special place for me as the whole area was destroyed by the tsunami and the Fukushima nuclear reactor disaster. The government wanted to bring back the infrastructure to help the maritime industry get back to business. Two-level systems are also faster because you don’t need to switch the direction of the wheels as they are already in the correct direction. Basically, it’s a simple process: put something on top, transport it, park it, and go to work. It’s a clean design.
Nowadays, very few places have enough real estate for a two-level system, which is why most new lifts are single-level. There are two choices with single-level systems: rails and wheels or a self-propelled modular transporter (SPMT), such as the BAE Systems project in Jacksonville. We always look to see what infrastructure a site already has in place as many shipyards may already be using SPMT at their sites and we may use the same equipment but maybe add a few more modules.
You have been with the company for over a decade, following in the footsteps of your father and grandfather. As the new CEO of Pearlson, what are your plans for the near future and how do you envision the company in 30-40 years?
My grandfather, Raymond, invented the modern ship lifting system in the 1950s, which he then patented and called the Syncrolift. After my grandfather passed the helm to my father, he increased the company’s customer base, including two ship lifters capable of lifting nuclear submarines. So yes, I have big shoes to fill.
My background is a bit different from that of my father and grandfather who were marine engineers. I am an industrial engineer. Before coming to Pearlson Shiplift, I worked as an industrial engineer for Walt Disney World in Orlando planning and implementing theme park attractions, focusing specifically on how to use data to ensure we always deliver the best product for our customers. What I bring to the leadership of our company is a different perspective and an inherent desire to always ask questions.
We don’t need to change most of what we do as it has worked well for over 60 years. There is definitely an opportunity to expand our service offering and add value to our clients while still providing the personal touch that the Pearlson family is known for. I have two young daughters and one of them has already said she wants to be the fourth generation at Pearlson. Nothing would make me prouder. We want to continue to do what we do well, which is designing boat lifts to help our customers get their vessels in and out of the water and service them in the most efficient way possible.