Media Contact
Sheila Martin 757-393-5394

PORTSMOUTH – A "First Landing" ceremony will be held on the waterfront south of Portsmouth City Hall at 11 a.m. Wednesday, March 7, to kick off construction of Ocean Marine Yacht Center.

A parade of two to five tugboats, courtesy of W.F. Magann Corp., will escort the Elite to the site of the ceremony. On board will be the Honorable Mayor James W. Holley III; Gary Brandt, Chief Executive Officer of Ocean Marine, LLC; Jim Bento, President of Ocean Marine LLC; and Bob Walker, Chairman of the Board of Ocean Marine, LLC. The ceremony is expected to begin after the Elite docks, the first vessel to be berthed at the new global yacht center. Remarks will then be made by Holley, Brandt, Bento, and Doug Smith, Director of Economic Development.

Since parking will be limited at the site of the ceremony, a free trolley service will be available to and from a "park-and-ride" location on Lincoln Street, near PortCentre Parkway.

Ocean Marine Yacht Center, capable of repairing the world's largest pleasure craft, will be constructed on a site that once served as a Coast Guard base on the waterfront between City Hall and the Norfolk Naval Shipyard. The $18.3 million project, which is expected to generate up to 315 jobs, is a joint venture of Ocean Marine, LLC, and the City of Portsmouth.

The complex will include:

• A 1,250-ton Syncrolift™ transfer system and service center capable of handling yachts up to 235 feet in length that will allow repair and conversion to be done in an environmentally controlled facility.
• Indoor dry storage for 320 boats.
• An 80-ton Travelift™ facility for servicing boats up to 80 feet in length.
• A full-service marina with 122 floating boat slips.
• A floating breakwater.
• A dockmaster's building with showers and laundry facilities.
• Complete fueling facilities.
• Parking for 374 vehicles.
• Retail center to house restaurants, related retail shops and professional offices.

By taking advantage of the natural northern-most ice-free harbor with unrestricted access, the project creates a major yacht repair facility unequaled on the Atlantic seaboard. It will be the only dedicated mega-yacht repair facility north of Savannah, Ga., and will position Portsmouth as a premier global player in the world of yachting. Mega-yachts are generally considered to start with 80-foot pleasure boats, carrying price tags of $3 million upward. There are over 5,000 such yachts in the world.