Kingston Shipyards

Last updated
Kingston Shipbuilding Co. Ltd, Shipbuilding and Ship Repair
Industry Shipbuilding
Founded1910
Defunct1968
Successor Marine Museum of the Great Lakes at Kingston
HeadquartersMississauga Point, ,
Products Lake freighters, Naval vessels
ServicesShip Repair
Parent Collingwood Shipbuilding

Kingston Shipyards was a Canadian shipbuilder and ship repair company that operated from 1910 to 1968. [1] The facility was located on the Kingston waterfront property known as Mississauga Point, which is the now the site of the Marine Museum of the Great Lakes at Kingston.

Contents

History

Marine Railway Company

In 1836 the British Board of Ordnance transferred control of the Kingston waterfront property, Mississauga Point, from the military to local businessmen. John Counter, Henry Gildersleeve, and Thomas Kirkpatrick created the Marine Railway Company to service the shipping traffic on Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River. [1]

By 1839 the company had built a small dry dock, an engine foundry, two wharves and a marine railway. In 1848 a large three storey warehouse was constructed. Steam power was added to the marine railway in 1851 and additional stone outbuildings were constructed in 1854. [1]

The Marine Railway Company advertised its facilities in 1862. The company claimed to own a marine railway with steam sawmill, workshops and offices, sixteen stone cottages, a large foundry known as the Ontario foundry, five large three and four storey fireproof warehouses and many wharves. Over two hundred men were employed to overhaul and service seven vessels at a time. At its time, it was the largest shipbuilding effort west of Quebec. [1]

First World War

In 1910 Collingwood Shipyards opened a subsidiary shipbuilding and repair plant in Kingston. The government dry dock was rented and purchased, and three government contracts for ships were secured. Several small jobs followed until the First World War in 1915. War contracts required 8 minesweepers for the Royal Navy and the Royal Canadian Navy and thus the workforce increased to over 1000 workers. [1]

Depression

Manager D. Thompson headed the firm during the Great Depression keeping a crew of six to eight men onsite. Parties of workers were hired on the spot on a jobbed basis. [1]

Second World War

The first three corvettes were ordered to be constructed in 1940. This was the first construction contract since 1923. The workforce grew to over 1500 as corvette and minesweeper construction progressed. The last wartime contracts were for seven seagoing steam tugs which were finished after the war had ended. [1]

Canada Steamship Lines takes over

In 1947 the yard was bought by the Canada Steamship Lines. This rejuvenated the shipyard business as the fleet of canallers owned by the Canada Steamship Lines provided repair work for the yard. The Kingston Shipyards throughout the 1950s was occupied with building tugs, barges and pontoons. [1]

Final years

The opening of the St. Lawrence Seaway in 1959 made the fleet of canallers obsolete. With no canaller fleet wintering in Kingston, the yard lost the majority of its work. In 1967 Canada Steamship Lines shut down the site and all the equipment was to be sold or transferred to Collingwood Shipyards. The property was sold in 1968, and in 1974 acquired by the establishment of the current Marine Museum of the Great lakes at Kingston. [1]

Shipbuilding history

Ships built at Kingston Shipyards [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]
Hull #Original nameOriginal ownerType Gross tonnage Date builtDisposition
1PolanaDept. of Agriculture Quarantine cutter 27819111927: renamed Jalobert

1955: renamed Macassa 1965: renamed Queen City

3Bellechasse Coast Guard Icebreaker and buoy tender41719121954: scrapped
4Dollard Coast Guard Buoy tender76119131970: scrapped
5P.W.D. No. 17 Dept. of Public Works Dump scow 39819131938: no trace of ship records past this date.
6P.W.D. No.18 Dept. of Public Works Dump scow 39819131985: possibly broken up.
7 HMCS Thiepval Royal Canadian Navy Minesweeper 440d19181920: decommissioned

1923: recommissioned 1930: struck a rock and sank

8 HMCS Loos Royal Canadian Navy Minesweeper 440d19181920: decommissioned

1940: recommissioned 1949: broken up

9HMCS TR-19 Royal Navy Minesweeper 360d19181926: renamed Almeria

1928: renamed Goolgwai 1939: HMAS Goolgwai 1945: decommissioned 1955: wrecked near Sydney, Australia

10HMCS TR-20 Royal Navy Minesweeper 360d19181920: renamed Seville

1926: renamed Durraween 1940: HMAS Durraween 1952: broken up

11HMCS TR-54 Royal Navy Minesweeper 360d19181925: renamed Table Bay

1937: renamed Mary Mortimer

12HMCS TR-55 Royal Navy Minesweeper 360d19181920: renamed Marie Jacqueline

1927: Svalbard II 1939: HNoMS Scorpion (Royal Norwegian Navy) 1940: captured by Germans, renamed NN02 Scorpion 1945: surrendered and returned to previous Norwegian owners 1946: Svalbard II 1956: Baxel 1966: sold for scrap

13HMCS TR-56 Royal Navy Minesweeper 360d19181919: renamed CT56 (USN)

1921: renamed Romanita

14HMCS TR-57 Royal Navy Minesweeper 360d19191920: renamed Colonel Roosevelt

1926: renamed Texas 1941: HMT Texas 1944: lost in a collision off Jamaica

15Canadian Beaver Canadian Govt. Cargo ship 2,41019201934: renamed Shinai (Japan Govt.)

1941: renamed Shinai Maru 1944: sunk by an American mine off the coast of Celebes.

16Canadian Coaster Canadian Govt. Cargo ship 2,42219211929: renamed Kingsley

1943: renamed Silvestre 1950: renamed Santa Lucia 1966: scrapped for parts

J. A. CornettCanadian Dredging Tug 6019372015: moored near Port Dover harbour
17 HMCS Napanee Royal Canadian Navy Corvette 940d19411942: sinks enemy ship U-356

1943: sinks enemy ship U-163 1946: sold and scrapped

18 HMCS Prescott Royal Canadian Navy Corvette 940d19411943: sinks enemy ship U-163

1946: sold 1951: scrapped

19 HMCS Sudbury vRoyal Canadian Navy Corvette 940d19411946: sold and converted to tug

1967: scrapped

20 HMCS Charlottetown Royal Canadian Navy Corvette 940d19411942: Torpedoed and sunk by U-517 in the St. Lawrence River near Cap-Chat, Quebec.
21 HMS Ironbound Royal Navy Minesweeper 545d19421946: renamed Turoy

1949: renamed Christina 1954: renamed Korso 1957: sunk by a mine off Portugal

22 HMS Liscomb Royal Navy Minesweeper 545d19421946: renamed Aalesund

1967: renamed Lars Nyvoll 1978: renamed Jan Mayen

23 USS Brisk / HMS Flax U.S. Navy / Royal Navy Corvette 980d19421947: renamed HMS Flax

1951: renamed Ariana 1955: renamed Arvida Bay 1963: renamed Zaida

24 USS Caprice / HMS Honesty U.S. Navy / Royal Navy Corvette 980d19421943: renamed HMS Honesty

1946: renamed USS Caprice 1961: scrapped

25 USS Splendor / HMS Rosebay U.S. Navy / Royal Navy Corvette 980d19431943: renamed HMS Rosebay

1947: renamed Benmark 1950: renamed Frida 1954: scrapped

26 HMCS Frontenac Royal Canadian Navy Corvette 980d19431945: sold to United Ship Corp. of New York for merchant service
27 HMCS Trentonian Royal Canadian Navy Corvette 980d19431945: Torpedoed and sunk by U-1004 in the English Channel
28 HMCS Peterborough Royal Canadian Navy Corvette 980d19441947: renamed Gerardo Jansen (Dominican Republic Navy)

1972: scrapped

29 HMCS Belleville Royal Canadian Navy Corvette980d19431947: renamed Juan Bautista Combiaso (Dominican Republic Navy)

1972: broken up

30 HMCS Smiths Falls Royal Canadian Navy Corvette 980d19431950: renamed Olympic Lightning (Honduran-flagged whale-catcher)

1956: renamed Otori Maru No. 16 (Japanese vessel) 1961: renamed Kyo Maru No. 23 (Japanese vessel)

31-38Carleton, Listowel, Aydon Castle, Barnwell Castle, Beeston Castle, Bowes Castle, Devizes Castle, Egremont Castle Royal Canadian Navy Corvette 980dCancelled
33Rockglen British Ministry of War Transport Tug 23319451948: renamed Freedom
34Rockforest British Ministry of War Transport Tug 23319451946: renamed Aramco 202

1948: renamed Abqaiq 1

35Rockpigeon British Ministry of War Transport Tug 23319451947: renamed Flaunt

1959: renamed St. Merryn 1984: scrapped

36Rockdoe British Ministry of War Transport Tug 23319451947: renamed Hoedic

1967: renamed Atlantico 1977: scrapped

37Rockswift British Ministry of War Transport Tug 23319451946: renamed Ocean Rockswift

1967: collides with Silver King I killing 6 fishermen 1995: sold

38Rockelm British Ministry of War Transport Tug 23319461952: renamed Kalid
39Rockswift British Ministry of War Transport Tug 23319461949: renamed Pemex XI
40Kingston Canada Steamship Lines Passenger vessel Cancelled
41 Canada Steamship Lines CanallerCancelled
42N.H.B.M. Hopper No. 1National Harbour Board Dump scow 13519482015: active
43N.H.B.M. Hopper No. 2National Harbour Board Dump scow 13519482015: active
44 HMCS Resolute Royal Canadian Navy Minesweeper 412d19541966: scrapped
45D. C. EverestMarathon Corp. Pulpwood carrier2,19619531981: renamed Condarrell

1989: renamed D. C. Everest 2000: renamed Condarrell 2006: scrapped

46 St. Lawrence II Brigantine Inc. Sailing vessel 3419532015: active
47Windmill PointToronto Port Auth. Ferry 11819542015: active
48Amherst IslanderOnt. Dept. of Hwys Ferry 18419552015: active
49Seeley’s Bay FerryLeeds and Lansdowne Ferry 1955
50D.O.T. 11Dept. of Transport Landing craft 271955
51D.O.T. 12Dept. of Transport Landing craft 271955
52 Royal Canadian Navy Landing craft 1955
53S.L.S. 81 St. Lawrence Seaway Sweep scow 10219552015: active
54YLV 600 Royal Canadian Navy Flat deck scow 2201955
55YLV 601 Royal Canadian Navy Flat deck scow 2201955
56Baffin OneCanadian Hydro Svce.Landing barge41956For CSS Baffin
57Baffin TwoCanadian Hydro Svce.Landing barge41956For CSS Baffin
58D.O.T. 49Dept. of Transport Landing craft 271956
59D.O.T. 50Dept. of Transport Landing craft 271956
60D.O.T. 51Dept. of Transport Landing craft 271956
61Pitts MerritC.A. Pitts Contractors Dredge 88319571977: Lost off Newfoundland
62Fort Steele (MP 34) R.C.M.P. Patrol cutter21519581973: to RCNR, renamed HMCS Fort Steele 140

1996: renamed Marie T. Splinter 1996: renamed Longway

63Kenora II (MP 94)R.C.M.P.Patrol cutter1191957
64S.L.S. 86 St. Lawrence Seaway Scow 4221958
65S.L.S. 87 St. Lawrence Seaway Scow 4221958
66T.H.C. No. 50Toronto Harbour Comm. Barge 38519582004: active
67William B. DillyMcNamara Construction Dredge 47319572015: active
68McNco No. 30McNamara Construction Scow 32119582015: active
69McNco No. 31McNamara Construction Scow 3061958
70D.O.T.Dept. of Transport Landing craft 271958
71D.O.T.Dept. of Transport Landing craft 271958
72D.O.T.Dept. of Transport Landing craft 271958
73SciroccoGulfs & Lakes Navigation Yacht 5719591969: renamed Esmau

1982: renamed Un Monde Different 2008: deleted

74Lightship No. 4Dept. of Transport Lightship 52019591969: renamed CCGS Mikula

1995: renamed Kormoran

75RCL D-35Russel Construction Scow 2351958later: renamed J.P.P. No. 501

later: renamed H.M.D.C. No. 2 later: scrapped

76RCL D-36Russel Construction Scow 3071958Later: renamed J.P.P. No. 501

1998: H.M.D.C. No. 3 2006: closed

77D.O.T.Dept. of Transport Landing craft 271958
78D.O.T.Dept. of Transport Landing craft 271958
79D.O.T.Dept. of Transport Landing craft 271958
80D.O.T.Dept. of Transport Landing craft 271958
81Grayco Canada Pontoons 1958
82Marguerite St. Lawrence Seaway Wooden boat1959Display boat for Upper Canada Village
83McNco No. 1McNamara Construction Scow 2231959
84McNco No. 2McNamara Construction Scow 2241959
85McNco No. 3McNamara Construction Scow 2251959
86McNco No. 4McNamara Construction Scow 2231959
87Miss CornwallCornwall Boat Tours Tour boat 441960later: renamed L’Aventure II

active?

88Pilot Boat No. 9Dept. of TransportPilot launch4419601984: renamed Claudin Riverin

2007: renamed Navsea

89Churchill 61National Harbour BoardDump scow 33119611983: renamed Pitts No. 18

2004: deleted

90EndiangJohn P. Labatt Ketch 7219621969: deleted
91Pitts No. 1C. A. Pitts ContractingDump scow 5321962
92Pitts No. 2C. A. Pitts ContractingDump scow 5321962
93Relay Coast Guard SAR cutter14319631989: stripped and abandoned
94ShiwassieCity of TorontoFerry6219621982: renamed Torontonian
95YSD 1 Royal Canadian Navy Driving float1963
96YSD 2 Royal Canadian Navy Driving float1963
97 S.T.V. Pathfinder Toronto Brigantine Inc.Brigantine3519632015: active
98Hudson OneDept. of Mines Landing craft 1963for: CSS Hudson
99Bayswater ShippingBarge8081963
100CargomasterHamilton Harbour Comm.Derrick scow5621964
101HBC 1000Hudson Bay CompanyBarge115119642006: Lost in James Bay
102Dept. of Public WorksFloats1965
103Dept. of Public TransportFerry barge151965
104Louis S. St. Laurent OneCoast GuardLanding barge351967For CCGS Louis S. St. Laurent
105Louis S. St Laurent TwoCoast GuardLanding barge351967For CCGS Louis S. St. Laurent
106AlexbowAlexbow Ltd.Icebreaking barge8119671969: Lost in the Arctic
107Jean BourdonCoast GuardSurvey vessel8119681995: renamed 801
108Scow No. 108Dept. of TransportFlat deck scow501967

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">W. & A. Fletcher Company</span> American manufacturer

W. & A. Fletcher Co. was an American manufacturer of marine boilers and steam engines for steamboats on the Hudson, in the Great Lakes, Long Island Sound, and elsewhere in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The company was founded in 1853 and associated with development of steam powered ships from the original crude efforts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cockatoo Island Dockyard</span> Australian dockyard

The Cockatoo Island Dockyard was a major dockyard in Sydney, Australia, based on Cockatoo Island. The dockyard was established in 1857 to maintain Royal Navy warships. It later built and repaired military and battle ships, and played a key role in sustaining the Royal Australian Navy. The dockyard was closed in 1991, and its remnants are heritage listed as the Cockatoo Island Industrial Conservation Area.

Seaspan ULC provides marine-related services to the Pacific Northwest. Within the Group are three shipyards, an intermodal ferry and car float business, along with a tug and barge transportation company that serves both domestic and international markets. Seaspan, is part of the Washington Companies that are owned by Dennis Washington. Kyle Washington, is the Executive Chairman of Seaspan, who has become a Canadian citizen.

The Defoe Shipbuilding Company was a small ship builder established in 1905 in Bay City, Michigan, United States. It ceased to operate in 1976 after failing to renew its contracts with the United States Navy. The site of the former company is now being developed for business and housing on the bank of the Saginaw River.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Naval Shipyards, York (Upper Canada)</span>

The Naval Shipyards were naval shipbuilding facilities used by the Provincial Marine and the Royal Navy in York, Upper Canada. The naval shipyards were ordered by the Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada John Graves Simcoe in 1793, and were opened in 1798.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blyth Shipbuilding Company</span>

The Blyth Shipbuilding & Dry Docks Company Ltd. was a British shipyard located in Blyth, Northumberland, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Davie Shipbuilding</span>

Davie Shipbuilding is a historic shipbuilding company located in Lauzon, Quebec, Canada. The facility is now operating as Chantier Davie Canada Inc. and is the oldest continually operating shipbuilder in North America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Neafie & Levy</span> Former American shipbuilding and engineering firm

Neafie, Levy & Co., commonly known as Neafie & Levy, was a Philadelphia, Pennsylvania shipbuilding and engineering firm that existed from the middle of the 19th to the beginning of the 20th century. Described as America's "first specialist marine engineers", Neafie & Levy was probably the first company in the United States to combine the building of iron ships with the manufacture of steam engines to power them. The company was also the largest supplier of screw propellers to other North American shipbuilding firms in its early years, and at its peak in the early 1870s was Philadelphia's busiest and most heavily capitalized shipbuilder.

James Playfair was noted for his entrepreneurship in the Great Lakes shipping, lumbering, grain handling, and industrial manufacturing businesses. He was a central figure in the establishment of Midland, Ontario, Canada. The son of John Speirs Playfair and Georgina Hall of Montreal, in 1889 Playfair married Sarah Charlotte Ogilvie (1858-1945), youngest daughter of Senator A.W. Ogilvie of Montreal, former president of Ogilvie Flour Mills.

Port Weller Dry Docks was a shipbuilder on the Welland Canal at the Lake Ontario entrance. The shipbuilder was founded in 1946 and the site was initially owned by the Government of Canada for storage purchases. The shipyard expanded to include ship repair, and reconstruction work. In 1956, the drydock was sold to the Upper Lakes Shipping Company, which began the construction of vessels at the site. The shipyard twice went insolvent, most recently in 2015. Port Weller Dry Docks was used to build, refit and repair cargo vessels.

Saint John Shipbuilding was a Canadian shipbuilding company located in Saint John, New Brunswick. The shipyard was active from 1923 to 2003.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Halifax Shipyard</span>

The Halifax Shipyard Limited is a Canadian shipbuilding company located in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

The Pusey and Jones Corporation was a major shipbuilder and industrial-equipment manufacturer. Based in Wilmington, Delaware, it operated from 1848 to 1959.

The Western Dry Dock and Shipbuilding Company was a shipyard that operated at Port Arthur, Ontario, now part of Thunder Bay, on Lake Superior from 1911 to 1993. The shipyard was established in 1909 and renamed in 1916 as the Port Arthur Shipbuilding Company. The yard closed in 1993. It reopened as a repair yard Lakehead Marine and Industrial, however that venture failed in 2014. As of 2016, the shipyard was purchased by Heddle Marine. It is operated by Heddle Marine in partnership with Fabmar Metals Inc, of Thunder Bay. The venture focuses on ship repair services and winter layup options.

Morton Engineering and Dry Dock Company was a shipbuilding company from Quebec City, Quebec. It was located in the Lower Town area of the city, along the Saint-Charles River. Founded in 1858, the shipyard stayed in operation until 1949, when it constructed its last ship. It built ships for the Royal Navy and Royal Canadian Navy during both world wars. In 1947, the company was renamed St. Lawrence Metal and Marine Works.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bay Shipbuilding Company</span>

Bay Shipbuilding Company (BSC) is a shipyard and dry dock company in Sturgeon Bay, Door County, Wisconsin. As of 2015, Bay Ships was a subsidiary of Fincantieri Marine Group and produces articulated tug and barges, OPA-90 compliant double hull tank ships and offshore support vessels. It also provides repair services to the lake freighter fleet. In the past the shipyard located in Sturgeon Bay has operated under several different names and traces its history back to 1918.

SS <i>J.H.G. Hagarty</i>

The J.H.G. Hagarty was a 550-foot (170 m) Canadian Great Lakes freighter that served from her launching in 1914 to her scrapping in 1968. The Hagarty was used to haul bulk cargoes such as iron ore, coal, grain and occasionally limestone. She had a length of 550-feet, a beam of 58-feet and a height of 31-feet. She was powered by a 2,400 horsepower triple expansion steam engine and fueled by two coal-fired Scotch marine boilers.

SS <i>Emperor</i> Canadian Great Lakes freighter 1910-1947

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Marine Museum of the Great Lakes at Kingston" (PDF).
  2. "Canada Coast Guard". Archived from the original on 2009-12-17.
  3. "Shipbuildinghistory.com". Archived from the original on 2015-09-24.
  4. "For Posterity Sake - RCN".
  5. "Ship Spotting".
  6. "Canada Vessel Registration Office".