The area comprises the East Coast of the United States and Canada. As one of the economic powerhouses of the world and being one end of the important North Atlantic trade the area has a high density of seaports which accommodate plenty of repair facilities for all kind of vessels. It must be realized that especially in the U.S. the price level is comparatively high. The protection U.S. shipyards are enjoying from the Jone's Act and which has refrained them from being competitive on the global market for newbuildings has naturally also some impact on the price level in their ship repair business. This effect is fostered by the fact that the primary customer for many of the big U.S. shipyards is the U.S. Navy which requires completely different working routines compared to commercial shipping. Nevertheless a substantial civil business for merchant vessels remains however mostly for domestic owners. Some of the big shipyard names at the U.S. East Coast like BAE Systems Ship Repair, Newport News Shipbuilding or Bath Iron Works are part of big industrial groups (BAE Systems, Huntington Ingalls Industries, General Dynamics). Northeast Ship Repair is comprised of Boston Ship Repair and Philadelphia Ship Repair. Docking facilities for vessels of up to 350 m are being offered at the East Coast. Although Canada is not affected by the Jone's Act it is not a big player in the ship repair business. On the southeastern coast of Nova Scotia Shelburne Ship Repair (subsidiary of Irving Shipbuilding Inc.) is located as one of the very few facilities for commercial ship repair.
