A Peek into Mazatlán’s Future

www.mazmessenger.com
Written on 4 Apr 12 at 10:12 am by Murry Page

I think I am part of the small minority who sees the future of Mazatlán in its port, not its sand. I realize tourists bring millions of dollars to this city and many businesses rely on them for their livelihood. However, to me I see that industry as the icing on the cake.

In the past couple of weeks I have been introduced to a company that seems to share my view. Fortunately for Mazatlán the men behind this company are the kind that will, in my opinion, play a major role in bringing that future into fruition.

Until recently I did not realize that in the past Mazatlán had an active ship building industry. It began in 1943 and at the height of its business employed about 1,000 people. As is often the case, and for reasons unknown to me, the owner began to experience financial difficulties. By 2003 the employees had gone without paychecks for too long and their union went on strike to call attention to their plight and in an attempt to get their employer to pay them for their past labor. Again for unknown reasons, the employer chose bankruptcy in response.

The owner of the land, Administracíon Portuaria Integral de Mazatlán (the Port Authority), retook possession of its land on which the shipyard had been built and the workers’ union got the machinery, equipment, and inventory in lieu of their well deserved wages. However, instead of selling their court awarded assets, they held onto them, guarding them in the abandoned facilities, hoping that someone would come along, reopen the shipyard, and let them practice their trades.

A couple of years ago their hopes heightened when Gabriel Delgado Saldivar, Chairman of the Board of Maritima de Ecologia S.A. de C.V., (Marecsa) came to Mazatlán. Marecsa, headquartered in Cuidad del Carmen, is a company that supports offshore oil production, including operating specialized marine vessels that are designed for that purpose.

For example, it operates two ships called FPSO vessels. As is now often the case, producing oil wells are miles off shore in the Gulf of México and thousands of feet deep. Unlike oil wells on land or those in shallow waters close to shore, laying a pipeline to the well to transfer the hydrocarbons to processing facilities is not possible. Therefore, that support must come to the well. A FPSO vessel is a vessel that Floats, Production (processes the hydrocarbons), Stores the processed oil, and then Offloads the product to an oil tanker. Marecsa also operates other types of support vessels necessary for offshore oil wells.

As Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex) moves more and more of its oil production offshore, Marecsa saw a growing demand for such support vessels. And, it was a demand that Pemex had to look elsewhere to find the suppliers. México did not have the capability to provide the needed array of vessels.

Gabriel Delgado heard about Mazatlán’s abandoned shipyard and came to look. The shipyard encompasses 2.5 hectares (6.1 acres) and is the second largest shipyard in México. The largest shipyard is in Veracruz. The 24,593m² (265,716 ft.²) facility is divided into areas for ship repair and ship building. When Gabriel Delgado came to see this facility he found a shipyard that was in amazing shape after sitting idle for almost 10 years and, due to the diligence of the displaced shipyard workers, an inventory than was only 3% short of that taken when the facility closed its doors.

A few weeks ago Gabriel Delgado returned to Mazatlán with his brother, José Delgado Sadivar. On this visit, however, it was to announce that their company, Astilleros Marecsa, S. de R.L. de C.V. (Astilleros Marecsa), was reopening the shipyard. Present at the opening ceremony were Sinaloa Governor Mario López Valdez, the Mayor of Mazatlán, Alejandro Higuera Osuna, Francisco Felix Medina, the head of Section II of the National Union of the Shipbuilding Industry, and Senator Sebstián Calderón Centeno, President of the Marine Committee of the Senate, along with other dignitaries.

Astilleros Marecsa will be run by José Delgado, who recently moved to Mazatlán from Cuidad del Carmen. Astilleros Marecsa will invest 70 million pesos ($5.6 million) to restore and repair the shipyard. José Delgado said this work is estimated to be completed within the next five months.

He said he anticipates that “out of water” repairs can begin in less than three months. The ship repairs portion of the shipyard has the ability to accommodate six tuna boats at once; two each on its three marine railways for removing ships out of the water. This repair ability will be a great boon for Mazatlán’s aging fishing fleet, as some of them must go as far away as South America for needed repairs. In addition to “out of water” repair, Astilleros Marecsa will be able to provide “at sea” repairs for those ships that cannot come into Mazatlán’s port. When this phase of the business begins, José Delgado estimates they will be hiring as many as 150 workers.

By this fall José Delgado believes the shipyard will be ready for ship construction. The shipyard has three steel cutters for ship fabrication. Two of them cut straight lines and the other can cut curves. The vast size of the ship building area will permit Astilleros Marecsa to build two 70 meter (230 ft.) ships simultaneously. When this phase of the business is operational the number of employees will have expanded to 450 to 500 employees.

As the business grows, Astilleros Marecsa could have up to 800 employees. In addition to these employees, up to 1,500 who work in steel production, carpentry, machinery, the manufacture of propellers, auxiliary equipment, etc. will have work because of Astilleros Marecsa. Gabriel Delgado believes that between 60% and 70% of the needed supplies and equipment needed for shipbuilding can be found right here in México.

At the opening ceremony Senator Sebastián Calderón Centeno noted that there is legislation pending in the Senate to restore México’s marine and shipbuilding industry. He also noted that President Felipe Calderón had requested that México’s shipbuilding be revitalized saying that Pemex would be letting contracts for 51 oil field support vessels and 21 of those small boats, tugs, and service vessels should be built in México.

So the timing of Astilleros Marecsa could not have been better. José Delgado said that they will be bidding on Pemex’s support vessels and hope to be awarded the construction of 6 to 8 FSVs or PSVs. Fast Supply Vessels are designed to transport people and cargo in support of drilling and production activities and other offshore projects or facilities at relatively higher speeds than a traditional supply vessel. The Platform Supply Vessels have substantial cargo-handling capabilities. PSVs transport fuel, water, drilling fluids, equipment and provisions to offshore facilities.

By the time the Pemex contracts are let, Astilleros Marecsa will be fully operational, ready to build ships, repair them, and breathe new life into Mazatlán’s port. But I believe most of all, it will also give us a peek into Mazatlán’s bright future.