The rear admiral from New York who convinced a small Alaska shipyard to build a never-been-done-before vessel told an appreciative crowd today that the M/V Susitna is what’s right about America: former Rear Admiral Jay Cohen, Office of Naval Research.

The Colombian immigrant turned naval-architect-from-Seattle admitted that at first he did not think a small ship repair yard on an Alaska island could build an impossible ship. This yard’s achievement today, he said, meant more to him than the improbable engineering feats he overcame: Guido Perla, Guido Perla & Associates, Inc.