Area Development
Signet Maritime, a marine transportation and logistics services company, plans a $3.6 million expansion of its Signet Shipbuilding and Repair operations at the Port of Pascagoula in Pascagoula, Mississippi, with plans to create 50 additional jobs.

Signet is constructing additional facilities and infrastructure in Pascagoula to accommodate an increase in shipbuilding and fleet repair. The firm will construct a new state of the art tractor tug, named SIGNET MAGIC, a 140’ x 40’ heavy deck barge. Plans are to increase its repair work for customer and company vessels. In addition, the expansion will include the construction of new fabrication and support shops, a 1,000-foot waterfront bulkhead and new office spaces to enhance the Pascagoula repair and construction facility.

“This is a very important plan for our Pascagoula expansion,” said Signet Maritime President J. Barry Snyder. “We are honored to participate with the State of Mississippi and the Mississippi Development Authority to provide additional jobs to the people of this fine state and to aid the growth of Jackson County and the Jackson County Port Authority.”

“Signet Maritime’s decision to expand its shipbuilding and ship repair operations is wonderful news for Pascagoula, Jackson County and the entire Mississippi Gulf Coast region,” Governor Phil Bryant said. “I thank the company for its continued confidence in Mississippi, and I am pleased the State of Mississippi was able to assist with this project.”

As an incentive MDA provided assistance for the construction of the new shipbuilding and ship repair facilities through the Hurricane Katrina - Community Development Block Grant program.

“I am grateful to Barry Snyder and the Signet Maritime team for further investing in their Pascagoula operations and for creating additional jobs for the residents of the Mississippi Gulf Coast,” said MDA Executive Director Brent Christensen. “Mississippi’s economic development team works hard to support our state’s existing businesses and help them expand, and we were proud to support Signet with this expansion.”

MDA officials said The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality and Colle Towing Company, which previously operated on the land where Signet Maritime is constructing its new facilities, also played an integral role in the expansion by reaching a critical Brownfield agreement that enabled the expansion to go forward. “This is a great example of collaboration between public entities and the private sector,” said MDEQ Executive Director Trudy Fisher. “Working together, MDEQ and Signet Maritime were able to incorporate protective remedial measures into the overall design of the planned expansion.”