Owner representation, from scope to delivery
Refits, yard periods and class surveys managed to a written standard. Scope, cost, compliance and documentation under one accountable party.
Fort Lauderdale ∞ United States ∞ International
About
A team assembled around the project
Maritime Project Solutions is a maritime project management and operations firm headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. We work for vessel owners, management companies and captains as a dedicated shore-side team, assembled around the scope and complexity of the individual project.
Our work centers on the periods where the most money moves and the most exposure sits: refits, yard periods and class special surveys. In those windows MPS holds the owner’s line on scope, cost, approvals and acceptance, and builds the record that has to survive delivery, a change of management or a sale.
Work is focused primarily on vessels of 40m to 70m.
What we do
Shipyard project management
MPS acts as the owner’s representative across the full yard period lifecycle, from pre-planning through close-out. This is not coordination from a distance. We are on site, accountable and in constant communication with the yard, the captain and the technical team.
- Scope of work development and cost modeling
- Competitive bidding, vendor selection and supervision
- Purchase order control and change order authorization
- Schedule management and milestone reporting
- Class society and flag state coordination
- Quality assurance, inspection and test planning
- Daily site reporting and weekly owner reporting
Operations and administration
The operational side of a maritime business is where value is protected or lost. MPS builds and runs the systems that keep an operation clean: a fractional shore-side function, embedded without the overhead of a full-time hire.
- Financial system setup and management reporting
- Budget build, forecast-versus-actual and cash position
- Document management and certificate compliance tracking
- Vendor administration and invoice management
- Communication workflows and operational procedures
- Office administration and regulatory compliance support
Class, flag & survey
A survey date does not move
MPS manages the class and flag workstream backwards from the certificate expiry, runs the compliance alongside the physical work, and documents it as it goes so the record stands on its own afterwards.
Class special surveys and plan review, tracked through to approval.
Flag state liaison and registry filings, including name change and re-registration.
Inspection and test plans booked with the surveyor ahead of the work, and closed out in writing.
MPS standards
Every engagement runs on the same ten controls
Each one produces a numbered record that files back into the project structure, so the project can be audited at any point and handed over intact at the end.
Delegation of authority
Who may request, approve and sign, and at what value.
Purchase order control
No commitment without an order. No payment without a match.
Change order control
Every change priced and approved before the work is done.
Vendor onboarding
Signed terms, tax documents and insurance before mobilizing.
Owner decision log
Every approval captured with amount, date and source.
Document control
One controller, one numbering convention, one filing standard.
Quality assurance
Test plans with written acceptance criteria and a closed-out log.
Technical control
Every question logged through to a dated written answer.
Labor control
Written rates, timesheets and insurance for everyone aboard.
Reporting cadence
Daily brief, weekly owner report, minuted meetings.
Owners do not have to take our word for how a project is being run. The record is the answer.
How we engage
Paid by the owner
Costs at cost
Expenses are passed through at cost. There is no mark-up.
No commission
No commission, rebate or referral fee from any yard, contractor or supplier on a project we manage.
One channel
Where the owner directs it, MPS is the single contracting channel for the vessel. One accountable party, one paper trail.
The team is the solution
Maria Pierce Schoenheit
Owner & Director of Operations
Ten years shore-side working directly for vessel owners across financials, compliance, documentation and full office operations, including two complete company acquisitions carried end to end. Hands-on project oversight and back-office infrastructure sit with the same person.
Colin D. Lord
Senior Project Manager
Forty-plus years in project management, twenty-five exclusively in mega-yachts. Head Project Manager and Yard Superintendent at Bradford Marine, which means he has run refits from the position most owner-side representatives only observe. OSHA certified.
Kareem Wilson
Chief Technology Officer
External technology lead for MPS. Responsible for platform architecture, systems integration and data security across project and operational infrastructure.
Tim Schoenheit
Business Operations Manager
Tim Schoenheit brings more than 35 years of experience in engineering, entrepreneurship, operations, and project management to Maritime Project Solutions. He holds a degree in Architectural Engineering and spent 30 years building and running an internationally recognized automotive performance company. Today, he applies that engineering background and operational experience to yacht management and complex refit projects.
John McCaughey
Project Manager
Thirty-eight years in yachting, to USCG Master 1600 GRT domestic and 3000 GRT ITC. Ashore he has managed multi-million-dollar refits and restorations and represented owners through custom construction. Certified ISM auditor and ISPS security officer.
Rachel Davis
Project Administrator
Rachel holds the documentation spine of every MPS project: meeting minutes, scopes of work, budget workbooks, correspondence, and the record trail that has to survive delivery. Records stay current, organized and retrievable.
Lazaro “Laz” roig
Project Manager
Laz Roig brings more than 40 years in the marine industry, spanning yacht construction, refit project management, and large-scale yard operations. His background includes general management of one of the largest yacht service facilities in the United States, along with mega-yacht refit and repair project management for owners, captains, and management companies. He is bilingual in English and Spanish.
Incoming
Project Administrator
Appointment in progress
A further project administrator joins the MPS team this year. Background and contact details to follow.
Carrie Grant
Internal Administrator
In yachting since 2009, from crew placement across the Fort Lauderdale fleet to freelance deck and interior. At MPS she works internally on workflow design, template management and file system structure.
WISTA ∞ IYBA ∞ MIASF Lifetime Member ∞ Florida Notary ∞ OSHA Certified ∞ Certified ISM Auditor ∞ ISPS Ship & Company Security Officer ∞ USCG Master 1600 GRT
Affiliates
Maritime security and defense solutions.
Independent yachting media and podcast network.
Yacht refit, maintenance and repair consulting.
Maritime compliance audits, consultation and onboard training.
Crew careers and vetted supplier network.
Marine window repair, replacement and glazing.
Yacht interior design and refit supervision.
Yacht interior outfitting, provisioning and organization.