Shipyard Project Manager

Canal Barge Company•New Orleans, LA

About The Position

Canal Barge Company is seeking an experienced Marine Shipyard Project Manager to plan, coordinate, and execute multiple concurrent vessel maintenance, repair, overhaul, and capital improvement projects across its Gulf Inland fleet. The role independently manages a portfolio of shipyard projects while balancing safety, regulatory compliance, vessel reliability, budgets, and schedules. It works closely with Port Engineers, shipyards, vendors, vessel crews, Operations, and shoreside leadership, requiring strong marine technical judgment, financial accountability, and the ability to keep complex projects moving across locations without continuous on-site supervision at any one location. The manager plans pre-docking work and procurement, oversees project execution and technical quality, manages budgets and vendors, coordinates vessel availability and return to service, and maintains project records and reporting. Success is measured by vessel availability, maintenance-cost variance, on-time and on-budget completion, and the number and impact of process improvements.

Requirements

Demonstrated experience successfully managing multiple concurrent marine, shipyard, or industrial capital projects, with direct accountability for budgets, schedules, contractors, and closeout.
Substantial experience in marine maintenance, vessel repair, marine engineering, shipyard operations, or a comparable technical environment.
Working knowledge of diesel propulsion, auxiliary machinery, piping, and related vessel systems.
Ability to interpret drawings, technical specifications, inspection findings, and vendor proposals.
Strong financial, organizational, communication, problem-solving, and prioritization skills.
Ability to travel regularly to shipyards, vessels, and vendor locations as required.

Nice To Haves

Inland towboat or commercial marine shipyard project experience.
Background as a Port Engineer, Chief Engineer, Shipyard Superintendent, Marine Project Manager, or similar role.
Marine engineering degree, technical education, or equivalent practical experience.
Familiarity with USCG Subchapter M, marine inspections, diesel engine overhauls, repowering, and major vessel modifications.
Experience with computerized maintenance management and project reporting systems.

Responsibilities

Manage multiple major vessel maintenance, overhaul, and capital projects simultaneously across different shipyards and locations.
Develop and maintain project scopes, schedules, budgets, milestones, risk registers, and completion plans for assigned vessels.
Prioritize competing project demands, coordinate resources and contractors, and identify conflicts or delays early.
Maintain portfolio-wide visibility into progress, cost forecasts, schedule variances, open decisions, and risks; provide regular updates to Engineering leadership.
Coordinate with shipyard and vendor personnel to support effective daily execution without requiring continuous on-site oversight.
Participate in planning meetings with vessel crews and the vessel management team to define work scopes before shipyard availability.
Write detailed scopes for major vendors and obtain estimates.
Coordinate shipyard scheduling for dry docking and other vendor activities.
Use planned and unplanned downtime to prepare for future outages, including scheduling inspections and pre-surveys.
Enter known issues and repairs into the planned maintenance system (PMS).
Work with inventory control and procurement to order and deliver materials and long-lead items, and move spares to needed locations.
Plan and execute shipyard availabilities, including Internal Structural Examinations (ISEs), Certificate of Inspection (COI) renewals, propulsion overhauls, vessel modifications, and major repairs.
Evaluate equipment conditions, vessel deficiencies, inspection findings, and proposed repairs to establish practical, technically sound scopes of work.
Oversee vendor performance, machinery installations, structural and piping work, testing, commissioning, and project closeout.
Ensure work complies with applicable safety, quality, USCG, and other regulatory requirements and is properly documented.
Identify technical issues and determine when to resolve them independently and when to escalate significant operational, compliance, or financial risks.
Hold vendor kickoff meetings and ensure all parties have the current, detailed project list.
Serve as the primary contact between the vessel operator and shipyard.
Ensure vessel crews understand their responsibilities during each project.
When on site, meet daily with vendors to plan work and lead daily safety huddles with vendors and crew.
Perform regular quality inspections and ensure defects are corrected promptly.
Coordinate and oversee sea trials, resolve issues found, and confirm the vessel is fully operational before handover.
Complete vessel handover and update project documentation.
Develop cost estimates and manage approved capital and maintenance budgets for multiple concurrent projects.
Obtain and evaluate competitive proposals; assess repair recommendations and change orders for necessity, scope, cost, and value.
Track commitments, invoices, change orders, actual spending, and estimated cost to complete; communicate variances promptly.
Validate contractor billing against approved work and supporting documentation.
Control unnecessary expenditure without compromising safe, reliable, or compliant vessel operation.
Coordinate vessel availability and return-to-service plans with Operations and other stakeholders to minimize downtime.
Provide concise, accurate project updates and maintain organized scopes, approvals, inspection records, invoices, and closeout packages.
Lead post-project reviews and apply lessons learned to improve future execution, cost control, and project consistency.