1.
AV Ships in harbour at Hoboken. (2 shots)
0.18

2.
GV Stern of ship under repair in dry dock (Asopus) (2 shots)
0.30

3.
MV Dock workers walking along dry dock.
0.32

4.
GV Crane lifting supplies.
0.34

5.
TV Man working on ship.
0.37

6.
GV Shipyard with New York skyline in background (2 shots).
0.43

7.
GV sign outside yard - bethlehem Steel.
0.46



Initials APSM/2024 APSM/2034



Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved

Background: Since 1971, the U.S. dollar has been devalued twice. While many sectors of American industry have suffered from the devaluation, at least one industry has seen an unexpected upsurge of business.

Foreign shipowners are now finding American shipyards very competitive when it comes to having repair work done, and even construction of new vessels.

In the Bethlehem Steel Shipyard, in Hoboken, New Jersey, the 700-foot (213 metres) long Asopus is in dry dock for a refit and a repaint. It's the largest vessel that has ever been dry-docked in the area.

Some people are comparing the current boom with the activity the docks saw during the Second World War. Elsewhere, workers are not too happy with their pay packets, but in the shipyards, the workers are delighted with their pay and overtime opportunities.

SYNOPSIS: Business in booming in the shipyards of the United States. And it's all due to the devaluation of the dollar. Two devaluations since 1971 have made the American shipyards very attractive to foreign ship owners.

The Bethlehem Steel docks in Hoboken, New Jersey, have their biggest customer yet - the 700-foot-long Asopus, in for a refit and a paint job. Business, say some, has never been better since the ship building boom during the Second World War.

The shipyard workers are happy. They're getting good pay and plenty of overtime, unlike their colleagues in other industria who are suffering from the dollar's devaluation.