Stas Margaronis, president of Santa Maria Shipping LLC and its subsidiary, Liberty Shipbuilding, says he “thanks Port Angeles and the Port Commission for the opportunity to present our proposal for locating a shipbuilding facility there.”‘

After ruling out Port Angeles, the California shipping company is now looking at Astoria, Ore., and Longview and Vancouver, Wash., as possible sites for a shipbuilding operation.

Santa Maria wants to build a small, specially designed container ship to carry goods between Hawaii and the West Coast.

In a written statement, Margaronis added:

“There is no question that your harbor, your waterfront, your trained workforce and your beautiful Peninsula represent virtually everything a shipbuilder would be looking for in choosing a site.

“However, there simply does not appear to be suitable available land.

“And, because Santa Maria/Liberty is locked into a very tight timeline, property that is not available now will not come in time.

“Unfortunately, this takes Port Angeles out of consideration.

“We regret this.

“Currently, we are negotiating with a number of other interested Washington ports.

“We must concentrate our efforts where they may bear fruit.

“Liberty Shipbuilding is confident that we will have our site and will begin building ships this year.

“Thanks to all of you in Port Angeles who tried.”

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The rest of the story appears in the Monday Peninsula Daily News. Click on SUBSCRIBE at the top of this page to get the PDN delivered to your home or office.