BELFAST, Maine (AP) – A Maine shipyard located in the state’s mid-coast region is receiving more than $650,000 in federal money to make improvements.

Republican Sen. Susan Collins says the money is going to Front Street Shipyard in Belfast from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration’s Small Shipyard Grant Program.

Collins says the grant totals a little more than $667,000 and it will help the shipyard purchase and install a new waterjet cutting machine to construct modern, lightweight carbon fiber ferries.

Collins says the new equipment is important because it will help the shipyard diversify its services to include a new production line. She says it will also help make the shipyard the only U.S. company with its set of manufacturing capabilities.

The Belfast shipyard was established in 2011.