Shipping | GSRJ boosts shipyard throughput as global connections deepen

German Ship Repair Jamaica Limited (GSRJ) has nearly doubled its monthly docking volume from its 2024 and 2025 baseline, providing measurable evidence that Jamaica’s ship-repair capacity is expanding alongside the company’s international reach.

The yard averaged 0.92 dockings per month across 2024 and 2025. In 2026, that figure increased to 1.40, with throughput rising further following key additions to the company’s team early in the year. Based on activity from March and projects scheduled through October, GSRJ is averaging 1.75 dockings per month, a 90.2 per cent increase over its previous baseline.

That progress is being supported by the company’s continued engagement with the international shipping community. GSRJ recently participated in the four-day SMM Exhibition in Hamburg, Germany, recognised as a leading trade fair for the global maritime industry. The event brings together shipbuilders, technology providers, and maritime decision-makers to examine developments in green shipping, decarbonisation, digitalisation, and maritime security.

For GSRJ, SMM provided another opportunity to deepen corporate networks, identify emerging market needs, and present the company’s growing capabilities to vessel owners and other maritime interests. The company co-exhibited with the Kloska Group, with a delegation led by Chief Executive Officer Colonel Martin Rickman and Chief Commercial Officer Anders Vidhav.

Interest centred on GSRJ’s location in the centre of the Caribbean and its plans to construct state-of-the-art workshops in 2027. The exhibition also generated follow-up discussions with international companies, including Kloska and Braspenning, while opening a pipeline of potential business from vessel owners operating across the region.

While SMM allowed the company to present its capabilities internationally, recent work at the Kingston shipyard demonstrates how those capabilities are being applied.

Among its recent projects was the drydocking of the CH ELIXIR, a 37,211 deadweight tonne oil and chemical tanker measuring 182.55 metres in length. Overseen by Chief Operations Officer Oscar Marina, the project involved a substantial technical scope requiring close coordination across the yard.

GSRJ’s teams completed full hull blasting and painting, overhauled the vessel’s overboard valves and carried out critical classification compliance checks. These included tailshaft wear-down measurements and rudder clearance inspections. The work was completed ahead of schedule, enabling the vessel to return to its commercial route earlier than planned.

Commenting on the success of the team in completing this project ahead of schedule, Colonel Rickman said, “We are extremely grateful to our workforce for the dedication, technical expertise, and teamwork they brought to this project. Their commitment enabled us to complete the work well ahead of schedule, allowing the CH ELIXIR to return to its commercial route earlier than planned.”

This project reflects an increasingly important consideration for vessel operators: the ability to complete complex repairs without adding unnecessary downtime. Sending a vessel far outside its normal route for maintenance can result in additional fuel costs, lost operating days, and disruptions to commercial schedules.

GSRJ believes its Kingston location can help address that challenge by giving vessels moving through the Caribbean or via the Panama Canal access to repairs with minimal deviation. The company accommodates container ships, tankers, bulk carriers, general cargo vessels, tugs, and specialised offshore units up to Panamax dimensions.

Its services include drydocking, hull cleaning, blasting and painting, steel and pipe fabrication, mechanical and electrical overhauls, propulsion and shaft line repairs, and work associated with special surveys.

The company’s free zone designation also allows it to receive spare parts on behalf of clients and facilitate their clearance through customs. Faster access to essential parts can help reduce turnaround time, particularly when vessels are operating against fixed schedules.

This combination of location, expanding technical capacity and customs efficiency is supported by European engineering practices, safety compliance, and an emphasis on timely delivery. Over the past three years, GSRJ has progressed from a start-up to an operational shipyard, with plans for further infrastructure development.

“Over the past three years, GSRJ has successfully evolved from a start-up into an operational shipyard,” Vidhav said. “The ultimate goal is to become one of the preferred repair yards in the region.”

Plans for a second dry dock and expanded workshops are central to that next stage. They also align with needs reinforced at SMM, including growing demand for sustainable vessel retrofits, faster digital diagnostics, and repair services closer to active trade routes.

The company’s growth could also create wider benefits for Jamaica. Pairing international ship-repair specialists with Jamaican technicians supports knowledge transfer and the development of specialised local skills. Attracting more overseas vessels could generate foreign exchange, create long-term technical employment, and retain more maritime expenditure within the country.

For regional operators, greater repair capacity in Kingston could reduce maintenance detours and support more reliable supply chains. GSRJ’s increased docking activity, recent project delivery, and continued international engagement point to a company strengthening not only its own competitiveness, but also Jamaica’s wider value as a maritime centre.