What Pacific Fishermen Shipyard does

Pacific Fishermen Shipyard is a full-service commercial shipyard founded in 1946 by 400 Norwegian heritage fishermen in Ballard, Seattle, Washington. The company operates three haul-out facilities on the freshwater side of the Lake Washington Ship Canal — including marine railways and a screw lift dock with up to 160 ft vessel capacity and 600 ton lift capability — and provides repair, maintenance, overhaul, modification, repower, and conversion services for commercial fishing vessels, tugboats and workboats, oil spill response vessels, small passenger cruise vessels, and large (68-300 ft) yachts. Its in-house capabilities span certified welding and heavy fabrication, machine shop work, pipe shop, shipwright services including traditional caulking and wood replanking, and full environmental containment sandblasting and painting, with reusable steel grit and on-site wastewater reprocessing.

Revenue is generated through project-based shipyard contracts, supplemented by a wholly-owned electrical services subsidiary (PFI Marine Electric, formed through the 2003-04 asset purchase of Lunde Electric's Marine Electrical Division) that builds UL 508 certified panels, switchboards, PLC/VFD systems, and NightWatch shipboard monitoring. PFI Marine Electric also operates a Dutch Harbor, Alaska presence alongside Lunde Marine Electronics, extending the company's reach into the Bering Sea fishing fleet. Ancillary revenue includes a ship chandlery retail store reselling marine equipment (PropGuard propeller line cutters, GFO packing, ELYSATOR water treatment systems, Stahlin enclosures) and custom merchandise. Go-to-market is primarily direct enterprise field sales, complemented by an event-driven presence at Pacific Marine Expo, the Boats Afloat Show, and earned-media-driven community engagement in Seattle's maritime cluster.

Name

Pacific Fishermen Shipyard

Legal name

Pacific Fishermen, Inc.

Website

https://pacificfishermen.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1946

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Pacific Fishermen Shipyard is a Seattle-based full-service commercial shipyard founded in 1946 that repairs, maintains, and converts fishing vessels, tugboats, oil spill response vessels, passenger vessels, and yachts up to 300 feet via three haul-out facilities and its PFI Marine Electric subsidiary.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Commercial Shipyard and Vessel Repair Services

NAICS

Ship Building and Repairing (336611)

SIC

Ship & Boat Building & Repairing (3730)

akta.pro primary industry

Commercial Ship Repair & Drydocking (TLAKAKAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Mechanical Systems Repair (Engines, Propulsion, Pumps) (TLAKAKAF), Luxury Yacht Systems Integration & Commissioning (Shipyard) (IMAJAMAI), Dry Docks & Floating Docks (Graving, Floating, Syncrolift) (IMAJALAA)

Keywords

• Ship repair services
• Vessel maintenance overhauls
• Marine electrical services
• Marine railway haulout
• Ship chandlery supplies

Headquarters

HQ city

Seattle

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Vessel Repair and Maintenance Services: Core revenue from dry-docking, repairs, overhauls, modifications, and maintenance for commercial fishing vessels, tugs, workboats, small passenger vessels, and yachts. Services include hull repair, propulsion system repair, structural work, welding, painting, sandblasting, pipe shop, and machine shop services. Revenue generated on a per-project basis.
2. Marine Electrical Services (PFI Marine Electric): Marine electrical contracting via wholly-owned PFI Marine Electric subsidiary, including switchboard installation, complete wiring, NightWatch monitoring systems, and UL 508 certified panel fabrication for fishing vessels, tugs, and yachts.
3. Ship Chandlery Retail Sales: Retail sales of marine equipment, supplies, and custom merchandise including ship supplies, propulsion parts, PropGuard line cutters, and custom Navy coffee mugs from the shipyard's chandlery store.
4. Vessel Repowering and Conversion Projects: Specialized projects including engine repowering (e.g., Caterpillar diesel installations), oil spill recovery vessel conversions, yacht rebuilds after fire damage, and NOAA charter vessel outfitting. Typically one-time large projects with significant engineering content.

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

Pacific Fishermen Shipyard is a full-service commercial shipyard established in 1946 that provides vessel repair, maintenance, overhauls, conversions, and dry-docking for commercial fishing vessels, tugboats, oil spill response vessels, small passenger cruise vessels, and large yachts. The company operates three haul-out facilities on the Lake Washington Ship Canal in Ballard, Seattle, and runs a wholly-owned marine electrical subsidiary (PFI Marine Electric) providing switchboard installation, UL 508 certified panel fabrication, complete wiring, and shipboard monitoring systems. Ancillary offerings include welding, fabrication, machine shop, pipe shop, painting, sandblasting, traditional shipwright caulking, and a ship chandlery retail store.

Product overview

Pacific Fishermen Shipyard is a full-service commercial shipyard established in 1946, offering repair, maintenance, overhaul, and conversion services for fishing vessels, tugs, passenger vessels, workboats, and large yachts up to 300 feet. The company operates alongside its wholly-owned subsidiary PFI Marine Electric, which provides marine electrical services including switchboards, wiring, and UL 508 certified panel shop operations. The shipyard provides haul-out services through three facilities (marine railways and screw lift dock), along with welding, fabrication, machine shop, pipe shop, woodworking, sandblasting, and painting services. The company also operates a ship chandlery supply store reselling specialized marine products including PropGuard line cutters, ELYSATOR water treatment systems, NightWatch monitoring systems, and Stahlin electrical enclosures. Environmental sustainability practices including solar arrays, stormwater filtration, and eco-friendly sandblast/paint booths complement the service portfolio.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Vessel Repair, Overhaul and Maintenance Services Full-service vessel repair, overhaul, maintenance, and modification work for commercial fishing vessels, tugboats, workboats, oil spill response vessels, small passenger cruise vessels, and large yachts up to 300 feet. Includes hull repair, propulsion system work, structural modifications, dry-docking, repowering, and regulatory compliance upgrades.
• PFI Marine Electric Services Wholly-owned subsidiary providing marine electrical services including custom UL 508 certified switchboards, electrical control systems, programmable logic controllers (PLCs), variable frequency drives, power factor correction, complete vessel wiring, and NightWatch shipboard monitoring systems. Services commercial fishing vessels, tugs, yachts, ferries, and passenger vessels from Puget Sound and Dutch Harbor, Alaska.
• Marine Railway and Dry Dock Haul-out Services Three haul-out facilities on the freshwater side of the Lake Washington Ship Canal including a 70' x 150-ton marine railway, 146' x 600-ton marine railway, 160' x 600-ton screw lift dock, and 160' x 600-ton sidetrack. Full environmental containment for hull cleaning, pressure washing, and sandblasting with on-site wastewater reprocessing.
• Welding and Fabrication Services

Quantifiable outcome

• Vessel operators report faster transit, fuel savings, improved propulsion performance, reduced vibration and cavitation after Pacific Fishermen repowering and hull optimization projects
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers15 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Ballard Inflatable Boats 'Kayaks Seattle'minorOthers · 15 November 2013Contact referral partnership for Hobie Kayak products. Ballard Inflatable Boats serves as the local Hobie Kayak dealer, located one block east of the Government Locks at 2611 Market St., Seattle, WA. Referenced in Pacific Fishermen's Hobie Kayak acquisition announcement for waterfront clean-up and under-dock inspections.
• MARCO Seattle Shipyard (Asset Acquisition)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 15 November 2013Pacific Fishermen won significant equipment at the MARCO Shipyard auction (including 150-ton Denison hydraulic press 'Big Bertha', Wheelabrator sandblast cabinet, heavy roller for angle/pipe bending, 150 hp Quincy screw compressor, and shipyard tooling), keeping heavy ship repair capability in Seattle's maritime cluster. PacFish hired 20 former MARCO employees, with former MARCO employees Tom Harbin and Al Brands joining as repair manager.
• Capt'n Sig Hansen (F/V NORTHWESTERN)minorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2013Pacific Fishermen Shipyard featured in video content with Capt'n Sig Hansen's F/V NORTHWESTERN Bering Sea content (Aged Mischief Storm Tossed Rye). The vessel is maintained by Pacific Fishermen and featured in Discovery Channel's Deadliest Catch context videos on Pacific Fishermen's video/audio page.
• Lunde Electric Company (Asset Purchase)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2003Pacific Fishermen acquired the assets of Lunde Electric Company in 2003, establishing PFI Marine Electric as a wholly-owned subsidiary to offer marine electrical contracting services. Olav Lunde started the Lunde marine electrical business in 1952 at Pacific Fishermen's shipyard. The acquisition included Lunde Electric's UL 508 certified electrical panel shop, producing custom switchboards and control systems for the fishing, tug, yacht, and commercial industries.
• Lunde Marine ElectronicscoreTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2003PFI Marine Electric (a Pacific Fishermen subsidiary) partners with Lunde Marine Electronics for shared facilities in Dutch Harbor and adjacent locations in Ballard, Seattle and Tacoma. Lunde Marine Electronics is independently owned and provides sales and service for Simrad, Furuno, SeaTel, Raymarine, JRC, Sperry, Icom, KVH, and Skanti electronics.
• Rowe Machine Works (Asset Acquisition)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1985Pacific Fishermen acquired assets of Rowe Machine Works in 1985 including all deck machinery plans and patterns, adjacent machine shop, and lift dock (Rowe 145' x 600 ton screw lift dock). This significantly expanded machine shop capabilities with horizontal and vertical turret lathes, line boring mills, radial drills, and shapers.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Vigor Industrial: Vigor Industrial operates full-service shipyards in Portland, Seattle, and Ketchikan (former Alaska Ship & Drydock) offering repair, conversion, and new construction for fishing vessels, tugs, and government craft — the largest direct competitor for Pacific Fishermen's PNW and Alaska fleet customers.
• Alaska Ship & Drydock (Vigor Alaska): Now operating as Vigor Alaska in Ketchikan, this yard serves the same Bering Sea and Alaska commercial fishing customers that Pacific Fishermen and its Dutch Harbor PFI Marine Electric arm serve, with comparable haul-out, dry-dock, and conversion capabilities.
• Foss Maritime: Foss operates tugs, barges, and shipyard/repair facilities on the West Coast including Puget Sound; as both a large tug operator (similar to Dahl Tug and Barge customer) and a repair facility, Foss is one of the closest regional peer yards.
• Bay Ship & Yacht: Bay Ship & Yacht is a Wisconsin-based full-service shipyard with multiple haul-out facilities handling commercial fishing, tug, and large yacht repair — the closest analogue on the Great Lakes to Pacific Fishermen's mix of fishing, tug, and yacht services.
• Fairhaven Shipyard: Located in Bellingham, WA, Fairhaven Shipyard provides haul-out, dry-dock, and repair services for commercial fishing vessels, tugs, and yachts in the Salish Sea, directly competing with Pacific Fishermen for PNW fleet work.
• Washburn & Doughty Associates: East Boothbay, ME-based shipbuilder and rebuilder specializing in commercial fishing vessels and steel-hulled workboats — a comparable coastal shipyard with overlap in fishing fleet new-build and repair scopes.
• Eastern Shipbuilding Group: Panama City, FL-based builder/repair yard serving commercial fishing, offshore support, and government customers — comparable vessel classes, regulatory exposures (USCG/MARPOL), and haul-out-driven business model.
• Thoma-Sea Marine Constructors: Houma, LA-based shipbuilder of ocean-going tugboats, offshore supply vessels, and specialty marine craft; competes with Pacific Fishermen's repowering and tug-conversion services for the US tug market.
• SAFE Boats International: Sumner, WA-based aluminum boat builder serving commercial fishing, law enforcement, and military customers in the PNW — regional small-craft peer with overlapping fish-boat customer base.

Regional players

• Delta Marine Industries: Seattle, WA-based builder of custom megayachts and refit facility; operates in the same Ballard/Lake Washington corridor and competes for the Northwest luxury yacht service and refit work that Pacific Fishermen handles for vessels like Lazzara and Northern Marine.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/Pacificfishermen
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/pacific-fishermen-shipyard-and-electric

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Pacific Fishermen Shipyard