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Coftton Industries wins Portsmouth approval to seek federal port grant for crane and bulkhead upgrades
Summary
Coftton Industries presented a Portsouth Maritime Industrial Base Expansion Project and the Portsmouth Port Industrial Commission authorized the company to submit a U.S. DOT Port Infrastructure Development Program application aimed at replacing a 350‑ton crane with a 500–600‑ton unit and planning a roughly 500‑foot bulkhead; authorization passed 5–0.
The Portsmouth Port Industrial Commission on May 26 authorized Coftton Industries to submit an application to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Port Infrastructure Development Program (PIDP) for a project the company described as the Portsouth Maritime Industrial Base Expansion Project.
Camille Cherry, Coftton’s director of development, told commissioners the submission will be two components: construction funds to replace the facility’s aging 350‑ton sheer‑leg crane (the Samson) with a new 500–600‑ton lift capacity and planning funds to evaluate and build roughly 500 linear feet of bulkhead with about 12 feet of navigable depth and a shore‑side capacity near 650 tons. “We are applying as a small project ... our funding request cannot exceed 11.25 million,” Cherry said, describing the program’s small‑project cap and noting the company has secured about 20 letters of support from regional stakeholders.
Cherry and company representatives said the replacement crane and bulkhead would increase the port’s ability to handle heavier cargo domestically that currently is routed to Charleston or northern ports, expand in‑house fabrication capacity and support local jobs tied to heavy‑lift operations. She said the existing Samson was acquired in 2016, has required roughly $4 million in repairs over the past decade and is about 50 years old; Coftton proposed a complete new build rather than a retrofit to meet modern tonnage and boom‑length requirements.
Commissioners asked several operational questions about job impacts, retrofit feasibility and whether the port has turned away heavy cargo due to capacity limits. Coftton responded that larger capacity would enable more local lifts and fabrication and that the bulkhead improvements would create shore‑side capacity for roll‑on/roll‑off operations. The Commission moved, seconded and unanimously authorized staff to sponsor and submit the PIDP application on Coftton’s behalf.
Authorization does not itself commit local funds; it allows the Commission to act as the required public sponsor for Coftton’s federal application. Coftton said the project team is working with grant consultants and expects federal and regional partners to be part of the review and implementation process.
