MARINETTE, WI (WTAQ) – A port city in Northeast Wisconsin that has been building ships for decades is finally getting a vessel of their own, which will be ready to launch around next summer.
The U.S.S. Marinette is set to become the 25th Littoral Combat Ship in the nation and the first named after the area where so many are built.
The development is special for residents of Marinette and Menominee who have worked side by side in the shipyard for so long.
Wednesday’s laying of the keel ceremony even brought together both High School bands.
“It takes both communities to build these ships and I want to discount the amount of efforts from both communities to make these great ships,” says Marinette Mayor Steve Genisot.
Marinette has been a shipbuilding hub since the 1940s and more than 1,500 total vessels have been produced in the city,
For those in the community, having a ship with their city’s namesake has been a long time coming.
Mayor Genisot explains those sentiments have been felt by almost everyone and efforts have been put in place to get to this point.
“Letter writing campaigns from not only the school district, [but] the senior centers, community leaders,” he explains.
The laying of the keel ceremony is the first symbolic step in the shipbuilding process and many local officials gathered for the event.
Jennifer Granholm, former two-term Governor of Michigan, is the sponsor of the ship and had her initials welded onto the keel plate of the ship, which will eventually be displayed on its exterior.
Granholm was elected as Michigan’s first female Governor in 2002.
She says that was a scary economic time period for the region and it’s astounding to see the growth of the area over time.
“I mean you have 2,500 people who come through these doors, it’s an eighty-eighty-percent growth since the initial investment by Fincantieri,” she explains. “This is an amazing day for the community.”
Current and former local officials were on hand as Granholm spoke and highlighted the continued success that the port has enjoyed this decade.
“We were so instrumental in trying to make sure that this shipyard was not just making it, but being excellent,” she explains.
And for those working in the community, like Mayor Genisot, it was a day to savor after so many years of waiting to receive this recognition.
“Finally to have a ship with U.S.S. Marinette on it, [it’s] incredible,” he explains.
