NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A shipbuilding company forced to leave New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina destroyed its shipyard has returned to the city.
United States Marine Inc. moved its headquarters to Gulfport, Miss. after the August 2005 storm. In November 2007, the company leased space along the Industrial Canal in New Orleans from Trinity Yachts Inc.
The company now is using the New Orleans yard to construct a line of military vessels bound for the Middle East nation of Bahrain.
''While Mississippi has been very good for us, we have many ties in New Orleans,'' said Barry Dreyfus, president of United States Marine. ''We've always wanted a presence in New Orleans.''
United States Marine's headquarters will remain in Mississippi while its new Industrial Canal space will serve as a second location.
The company shares Trinity's equipment and work force, which it is using to complete a $22 million contract with the U.S. Navy to build two vessels that will ultimately be used by Bahrain.
However, the company plans by the end of the year to build its own shipbuilding operation on the Trinity Yachts land and hire between 50 and 75 employees to work on the Navy ships and other watercraft, Dreyfus said.
The two companies share a co-owner, John Dane III.
