THE TOWN THAT THE U.S. Navy built then fractured when the base closed in 1996 —Vallejo — is about to be hit again with job and industry loss as the dry dock at the West Coast’s oldest shipyard facility announced it will be shuttering operations on Mare Island.  

Mare Island Dry Dock LLC will be permanently closing its facility after losing a large U.S. Coast Guard contract, the city said Tuesday.  

MIDD, a commercial dry dock company providing repair and other services to the maritime industry since 2013, employed more than 80 full-time union and non-union staff, the city said. It has two dry docks, which are spaces that a ship can be parked in and have water drained from, allowing work to be done. Mare Island also has berthing facilities and crane services. 

“The company has been a significant contributor to the local economy, supporting jobs and generating economic activity for Vallejo, Solano County, and the surrounding region,” according to the city. 

Vallejo got outbid for the Coast Guard’s largest vessel, the Icebreaker Healy, which will head to Oregon instead of Mare Island. MIDD even offered a lower bid for its repair than the Oregon site, yet still lost the contract. 

In 2024, U.S. Rep. John Garamendi, D-Fairfield, was among the lawmakers to introduce the SHIPS for America Act, which if passed will boost the shipbuilding and repair industry. The congressman has also secured millions to invest in Vallejo’s maritime operations. 

The move is another blow to Mare Island, a postcard-worthy parcel formerly owned by the Navy that has sputtered and stalled in reaching any new-found economic boom despite the city’s best wishes.  

Vallejo Mayor Andrea Sorce said the loss of MIDD is a huge loss to the city and the region, but that they are determined to support the workers and keep brainstorming about the island.  

A D4 Industrial Brown hoist on Nimitz Ave. in the Mare Island Historic District in Vallejo, Calif., on March 15, 2022. (Ray Saint Germain/Bay City News)

“I am in touch with MIDD leadership and the Solano workforce development board, as well as Congressman Garamendi, and everyone is working around the clock to support the workers and determine next steps,” she said. 

Sorce said a consultant firm recently hired by the city council, the Roosevelt Group, was tasked to support maritime opportunities, particularly on Mare Island.  

“They will be in town next week and are working closely with City staff, the Congressman, and all our local maritime stakeholders to ensure that Vallejo attracts investment and skilled job opportunities in the maritime industry,” she said in an email. 

Cities back shipbuilding amid closures

Vallejo isn’t the only city that wants to jump start shipbuilding in the county. Rio Vista, Fairfield and Suisun City have all passed resolutions in favor of the idea. The board of supervisors has also amassed a working group to explore the issue. 

Meanwhile, the billionaire-backed development venture known as California Forever has proposed a massive shipbuilding and other maritime industry hub on the Sacramento River in Solano County. 

The county has now been socked with major closure announcements three times in one year — the Valero refinery in Benicia, the Anheuser-Busch brewery in Fairfield, and now the dry dock in Vallejo. 

Katy St. Clair got her start in journalism by working in the classifieds department at the East Bay Express during the height of alt weeklies, then sweet talked her way into becoming staff writer, submissions editor, and music editor. She has been a columnist in the East Bay Express, SF Weekly, and the San Francisco Examiner. Starting in 2015, she begrudgingly scaled the inverted pyramid at dailies such as the Vallejo Times-Herald, The Vacaville Reporter, and the Daily Republic. She has her own independent news site and blog that covers the delightfully dysfunctional town of Vallejo, California, where she also collaborates with the investigative team at Open Vallejo. A passionate advocate for people with developmental disabilities, she serves on both the Board of the Arc of Solano and the Arc of California. She lives in Vallejo.