MANNS HARBOR – The North Carolina Ferry Division has received a $1.3 million grant to improve conditions in the paint facility at the North Carolina State Shipyard in Manns Harbor.
The grant, from the U.S. Federal Transit Administration’s Ferry Service for Rural Communities Program, provides capital, planning and operating assistance to ferry services that serve rural communities.
“The shipyard is a major part of our maritime operations, and the money from this grant will help us improve that facility,” said Ferry Division Director Harold Thomas. “We’d like to thank our congressional and community partners that helped us secure this important funding.”
A study by the Ferry Division revealed that fire-retardant paint on the steel beams in the shipyard’s paint facility was beginning to peel, and that lighting inside the facility was not up to the standards of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. The $1.3 million in federal money, plus a matching $336,000 from the Ferry Division, will remediate both issues.