Uploaded December 2025 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
When shipbuilding and maritime industry veteran Joe Rella joined St. Johns Shipbuilding as president two years ago, he found a shipyard in need of direction. With a laser-like focus on ‘the people, the plant and the process’, this U.S. Merchant Marine Academy graduate has the small shipyard well-positioned to not only continue its commercial legacy building for the U.S. offshore and inland markets, but also able and ready to capture what promises to be a vibrant shipbuilding workload from the U.S. government, from the Navy to the Coast Guard to NOAA, and all stops in between.
When shipbuilding and maritime industry veteran Joe Rella joined St. Johns Shipbuilding as president two years ago, he found a shipyard in need of direction. With a laser-like focus on ‘the people, the plant and the process’, this U.S. Merchant Marine Academy graduate has the small shipyard well-positioned to not only continue its commercial legacy building for the U.S. offshore and inland markets, but also able and ready to capture what promises to be a vibrant shipbuilding workload from the U.S. government, from the Navy to the Coast Guard to NOAA, and all stops in between.
