The town that the U.S. Navy built then fractured when the base closed in 1996 – Vallejo -- is about to be hit again with job and industry loss as the dry dock at the West Coast's oldest shipyard facility announced it will be shuttering operations on Mare Island.
MIDD is a commercial dry dock company providing repair and other services to the maritime industry since 2013. It employs more than 80 full-time union and non-union staff.
The city said the company has two dry docks, which are spaces that a ship can be parked in and have water drained from, allowing work to be done. Mare Island also has berthing facilities and crane services.
Vallejo got outbid for the Coast Guard's largest vessel, the Icebreaker Healy, which will head to Oregon instead of Mare Island. MIDD even offered a lower bid for its repair than the Oregon site, yet still lost the contract.
The move is another blow to Mare Island. The property was formerly owned by the Navy, but has sputtered and stalled in reaching any new-found economic boom despite the city's best wishes.
