Kingston-based facility reporting rapid growth and achievement in less than 36 months
The year 2025 was been one of progress and success for German Ship Repair Jamaica (GSRJ). Still to be regarded as a fledgling enterprise, with a floating dry dock that went into service early in 2024, GSRJ has been servicing, on average, three ships at a time but, on occasion, has handled up to five ships simultaneously.
More than verifying the robustness of the facility’s capabilities, ‘five ships simultaneously’ speaks to operational and organizational efficiency. Small wonder that, in less than three years, GSRJ has inspired confidence; earning kudos and attracting repeat (and new) business from satisfied clients across the Caribbean region and beyond.
The year 2025 was only the second year of dry dock operations for the GSRJ. Its immediate management objectives were directed at operational efficiency; personnel training and skills development; international certification of its team; all in the effort to build a global reputation as a reliable shipyard in the Caribbean region. And so, in 2025, GSRJ was able to deliver to clients a full slate of technical services, including welding and hull maintenance; mechanical repairs; and, fabrication.
In this regard, the shipyard has serviced vessels of all types including tankers, tugs and cargo ships. With its technical capabilities and geographic location in Jamaica, the GSRJ can effectively service vessels transiting the Caribbean.
TRAINING AND SKILLS
Machines and technology facilitate the delivery of a range of services but, it is personnel training and skills development that makes the organization. The GSRJ now has Lloyd’s Register (LR) certification and a team of Jamaican welders has been certified to Lloyd’s Register standards. From the outset, the corporate objective was to ensure delivery of the highest standards of ship repair. In this regard, the GSRJ management team began the process of recruiting skilled and experienced personnel from around the world while recruiting and training Jamaicans. The intention then was to develop capable local talent to international standards. This initiative bore fruit with the LR certification of Jamaican welders.
At this early stage of its development, by training and certifying Jamaican skills, GSRJ has contributed significantly to maritime skills development in Jamaica and the Caribbean. Several Jamaican supervisors and team leaders have been appointed and, as a result, the number of expatriates employed at start-up has declined.
GSRJ’s development plans were designed to deliver all the necessary repair and maintenance services for all ships and vessels servicing the Caribbean including container ships, general cargo vessels, bulk carriers, tankers, Navy and Coast Guard vessels and Tugs. Services listed at the start of operations included:
- Dry Docking and Berthing Service
- Ship Repairs
- Steel and Pipe Repairs
- Engine Repairs & Overhaul
- Pumps and Valve Repairs
- Electrical Works
- Hydraulic Works
- Ship Maintenance Services – including air conditioning systems, bilge and ballast systems, fire and safety systems, radar and electronic equipment.
- Class Renewal of Vessels
- Cleaning and Painting Works
- Retrofits of certain new equipment
In order to deliver these services, the Company identified fundamental objectives including, inter alia:
- Establishment of a shipyard with required workshops, offices and infrastructure
- Procurement of equipment for ship repair activities to include cranes, forklifts, ‘cherry pickers’, sandblasting and painting equipment.
- Procurement of a Floating Dry Dock to lift up to 20,000-ton commercial ships and other vessels.
Not only has GSRJ achieved much of these objectives in less than 36 months. It has impressed its clients with the quality and high standards of its work and the effectiveness and efficiency of its management processes. []
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- FIRST PUBLISHED 2025 November 20
