WASHINGTON — U.S. Senator Daniel K. Inouye has announced that two federal grants totaling more than $1 million have been awarded to the state of Hawaii and a local shipyard.

Under the Maritime Administration's new Assistance to Small Shipyards program, Pacific Shipyards International LLC of Honolulu will receive $869,977 to cover 75 percent of the cost of a water-blast system and the full cost of $405,000 for a new mobile crane, according to a news release from Inouye's office.

"For more than 70 years, Pacific Shipyards and its predecessor have been operating out of Pier 41, and the existing dry dock cranes date back to World War II," Inouye said. "The water-blast system and the mobile crane will allow Pacific Shipyards to operate in a more environmentally friendly and more flexible manner that will benefit the company and the nearby community."

Pacific Shipyards is poised to be relocated within Honolulu Harbor as part of development plans for the Kapalama corridor.

The nearly $870,000 grant for Pacific Shipyards constitutes the lion's share awarded under the initial grants from the Assistance to Small Shipyards program. The program's mission is to improve and strengthen the nation's marine transportation infrastructure to benefit the economic and security needs of the nation, the news release said.

Inouye is chairman of both the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, and the Senate Defense Appropriations Subcommittee.