Construction Begins on Derecktor Ft. Pierce Refit Facility

A small ceremony was held on 13th November as ground broke on the development project, with federal, state, and local dignitaries brandishing golden shovels, hard hats, and face masks.

In October 2020, Derecktor received Army Corps approval for a 1,500 tonne Mobile Boat Hoist. Following a lengthy permitting and review process, all approvals have been given to the project and Derecktor has begun work on establishing a new full-service superyacht repair and refit facility on America’s southeast coast.

“This will be one of those places that people will be looking at worldwide to get their repairs, their work, their upgrade done, that’s an incredible thing to say about what this is going to do for this community and we couldn’t be more proud to do it,” said U.S. Representative Brian Mast.

Mast’s optimism is echoed by Fort Pierce Mayor Linda Hudson, who declared that “this is so historic and Derecktor is going to put Fort Pierce on the map. I pledge to you that Fort Pierce stands ready to cooperate in making this and the whole port area successful.”

A new haul-out basin, developed by Shoreline Foundation, will involve excavating a 220-foot long by 50-foot-wide portion of the existing concrete wharf, creating a slipway where the 1,500-tonne mobile boat hoist will lift yachts up to 250 feet in length out of the water for service.

The construction of the slipway is expected to last for approximately five months, while the world’s largest mobile boat hoist is due to be shipped on December 1 from Cimolai Technology in Northern Italy to Port Everglades, then trucked in containers to Fort Pierce shortly thereafter.

“This is a pivotal moment for Derecktor Shipyards and St Lucie County,” said Justin Beard, Marketing Manager, Derecktor Shipyards. “While a tremendous amount of preparation has already gone into this project, the real work is just the beginning. There will be an increased amount of construction activity at the Port during the coming months as we prepare the facility for hauling operations.”

Standing 85 feet tall, 75 feet wide, 120 feet long, and weighing 738 tonnes, the machine will be the engine of Derecktor Ft. Pierce and, once fully operational, will provide an economic boom for Fort Pierce and the St Lucie County.

The new facility at Fort Pierce will further strengthen the refit and maintenance prowess of Derecktor Shipyards, with four other facilities spanning the Eastern Seaboard of the U.S. from Main to South Florida.