McCloskey & Company Shipyard was a ship builder in Tampa, Florida. McCloskey & Company built 38 cargo ships, Type N3 ship for World War II founded in 1942. McCloskey & Company also built type C1-S-D1 concrete ships. Matthew H. McCloskey founded the construction company McCloskey & Company in Philadelphia. McCloskey & Company built the Philadelphia Convention Hall, the Philadelphia Sheraton Hotel, and the Washington D.C. Stadium.
The Tampa shipyard is now Tampa Ship LLC owned by Edison Chouest Offshore. [1]
During World War II, there was a high demand for ships thus, McCloskey & Company opened a shipyard at Hookers Point in Tampa, Florida. Tampa Port Authority leased the land to McCloskey & Company. With steel in short supply due to the war, McCloskey & Company built 24 self-propelled concrete ships under a Maritime Commission war contract starting in July 1943. McCloskey & Company Shipyard had 6,000 employees at its peak, with 13 shipways (construction berths). Most of the concrete ships were used to move carry sugar. The concrete ships were 366 feet long and had a deadweight of 5,000 tons. Four other companies also built concrete ships for the war. Starting in April 1945 McCloskey & Company built 38 steel hull cargo ships Maritime Commission Type N3 ship, these were small coastal cargo ships.
After the war, the shipyard was sold to the City of Tampa in January 1948. The city leased out the shipyard to Tampa Ship Repair & Dry Dock Company. Tampa Fabricators operated out of the Tampa Ship Repair & Dry Dock Company shipyard starting in 1956 till 1960. The shipyard was vacant in the 1960s. In 1972 the yard was sold to American Ship Building Company as Tampa Shipyards. American Ship Building Company built two large drydocks at the site, but went bankrupt in 1995. For two years the site was owned and run by Tampa Shipbuilding Company. In 1997 the site was sold and became the Tampa Bay Shipbuilding & Repair Company. In 2008 the site was sold to Edison Chouest Offshore and renamed the site Tampa Ship. [2] [3]
Tampa Ship operates a 62-acre full-service ship repair facility in Tampa Bay in Hillsborough County. [4] Tampa Ship also does vessel conversions and has four large drydocks. Tampa Ship has 7 repair pier berths off McCloskey Blvd at the start of the Sparkman Channel of Hillsborough Bay. Tampa Ship builds Platform supply vessels and Harbor Tugs. Edison Chouest Offshore has owned Tampa Ship since 2008. [5] [6] [7]
| Hull # | Ship # | Name | Type | Gross tons | Feet | Delivered | Fate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 244546 | Vitruvius | C1-S-D1 | 4,826 | 350 | Dec-43 | Breakwater at Normandy | |
| 2 | 244258 | David O. Saylor | C1-S-D1 | 4,826 | 350 | Nov-43 | Breakwater at Normandy | |
| 3 | 244542 | Arthur Newell Talbot | C1-S-D1 | 4,826 | 350 | Feb-44 | Breakwater at Kiptopeke VA | |
| 4 | 245070 | Richard Lewis Humphrey | C1-S-D1 | 4,826 | 350 | Mar-44 | Sold in Mexico | |
| 5 | 245069 | Richard Kidder Meade | C1-S-D1 | 4,826 | 350 | Mar-44 | Breakwater at Kiptopeke VA | |
| 6 | 245071 | Willis A. Slater | C1-S-D1 | 4,826 | 350 | Feb-44 | Breakwater at Kiptopeke VA | |
| 7 | 245336 | Leonard Chase Watson | C1-S-D1 | 4,690 | 350 | Jun-44 | Breakwater at Kiptopeke VA | |
| 8 | 245335 | John Smeaton | C1-S-D1 | 4,826 | 350 | Apr-44 | Breakwater at Powell River BC | |
| 9 | 245579 | Joseph Aspdin | C1-S-D1 | 4,690 | 350 | May-44 | Wrecked and lost 1948 | |
| 10 | 245773 | John Grant | C1-S-D1 | 4,826 | 350 | Jun-44 | Breakwater at Kiptopeke VA | |
| 11 | 245771 | M. H. Le Chatelier | C1-S-D1 | 4,690 | 350 | Jul-44 | Breakwater at Powell River BC | |
| 12 | 245774 | L. J. Vicat | C1-S-D1 | 4,690 | 350 | Jul-44 | Breakwater at Powell River BC | |
| 13 | 246010 | Robert Whitman Lesley | C1-S-D1 | 4,690 | 350 | Jul-44 | Breakwater at Kiptopeke VA | |
| 14 | 246120 | Edwin Thacher | C1-S-D1 | 4,690 | 350 | Jul-44 | Breakwater at Kiptopeke VA | |
| 15 | 246257 | C. W. Pasley | C1-S-D1 | 4,690 | 350 | Aug-44 | Breakwater at Newport OR | |
| 16 | Armand Considere | C1-S-D1 | 4,690 | 350 | Sep-44 | Breakwater at Powell River BC | ||
| 17 | Francois Hennebique | C1-S-D1 | 4,690 | 350 | Sep-44 | Breakwater at Newport OR | ||
| 18 | P. M. Anderson | C1-S-D1 | 4,690 | 350 | Sep-44 | Breakwater at Powell River BC | ||
| 19 | 246727 | Albert Kahn | C1-S-D1 | 4,680 | 350 | Oct-44 | Abandoned and lost 1947 | |
| 20 | 246758 | Willard A. Pollard | C1-S-D1 | 4,680 | 350 | Nov-44 | Breakwater at Kiptopeke VA | |
| 21 | 246759 | William Foster Cowham | C1-S-D1 | 4,680 | 350 | Nov-44 | Breakwater at Kiptopeke VA | |
| 22 | 246877 | Edwin Clarence Eckel | C1-S-D1 | 4,680 | 350 | Dec-44 | Scuttled 1946 | |
| 23 | 246881 | Thaddeus Merriman | C1-S-D1 | 4,680 | 350 | Nov-44 | Breakwater at Powell River BC | |
| 24 | 246878 | Emile N. Vidal | C1-S-D1 | 4,680 | 350 | Dec-44 | Breakwater at Powell River BC | |
| 25 | 180568 | Northern Warrior | N3-S-A2 | 1,900 | 250 | Apr-45 | To Britain 1945, sold 1947, scrapped 1970 | |
| 26 | 180576 | Northern Chieftain | N3-S-A2 | 1,900 | 250 | Apr-45 | To Britain 1945, sold 1947, scrapped 1982 | |
| 27 | 180714 | Northern Pioneer | N3-S-A2 | 1,900 | 250 | May-45 | To Britain 1945, to Greece 1945 as Zakynthos, sold 1947, later Teng 1407, Hung Chang, scrapped | |
| 28 | 247949 | Northern Wanderer | N3-S-A2 | 1,870 | 250 | Jun-45 | Later Warren Bearne, to the Philippines 1949, scrapped 1963 | |
| 29 | 248016 | Northern Explorer | N3-S-A2 | 1,870 | 250 | Jun-45 | Later Nat Brown, to USA 1949, to USN 1951 as Centaurus (AK 264), scrapped 1960 | |
| 30 | 248017 | Northern Voyager | N3-S-A2 | 1,870 | 250 | Jun-45 | Later Oliver R. Mumford, scrapped 1964 | |
| 31 | 248014 | Northern Adventurer | N3-S-A2 | 1,870 | 250 | Jun-45 | Sold 1946, later Hai Ming, Chung Kai, sank 1964 | |
| 32 | 248215 | Northern Squire | N3-S-A2 | 1,870 | 250 | Jun-45 | Scrapped 1964 | |
| 33 | 248216 | Northern Yeoman | N3-S-A2 | 1,870 | 250 | Jul-45 | To USA 1949, to USN 1951 as Serpens (AK 266), scrapped 1960 | |
| 34 | 248211 | Northern Archer | N3-S-A2 | 1,870 | 250 | Jul-45 | Sold 1947, scrapped 1979 | |
| 35 | 248204 | Northern Stalker | N3-S-A2 | 1,870 | 250 | Jul-45 | Sold 1947, scrapped 1974 | |
| 36 | 248394 | Eben H. Linnell | N3-S-A2 | 1,870 | 250 | Jul-45 | To USA 1949, scrapped | |
| 37 | 248399 | Northern Trapper | N3-S-A2 | 1,870 | 250 | Aug-45 | Scrapped 1964 | |
| 38 | 248397 | John J. Jackson | N3-S-A2 | 1,870 | 250 | Aug-45 | Sold 1947 as Samsun, later Hopa, Merve, scrapped in Turkey 1978 | |
| 39 | 248396 | Frederick Lendholm | N3-S-A2 | 1,870 | 250 | Sep-45 | Sold 1947, later Don Martin, scrapped in Peru 1967 |
Two C1-S-D1 concrete ships SS Vitruvius and SS David O. Saylor were taken out of maritime service and used to make a breakwater at Normandy for the Normandy landings. The breakwater was part of the Mulberry harbour, a temporary manmade harbor for World War II, used for the rapid offloading of cargo onto beaches during the Allied invasion of Normandy in June 1944. The Breakwater were called Corncobs and Gooseberries. The sunk Vitruvius and David O. Saylor were used at Utah Beach. Nine ships were used at The Kiptopeke Breakwater in Chesapeake Bay, Virginia at 37°09′51″N75°59′29″W / 37.164267°N 75.991402°W . [8] [9]
Ten of the concrete ships are at the Powell River, British Columbia at 49°51′55″N124°33′21″W / 49.865238°N 124.555821°W , where a lumber mill then as a breakwater. [10] known as The Hulks.
Vigor Shipyards is the current entity operating the former Todd Shipyards after its acquisition in 2011. Todd Shipyards was founded in 1916, which owned and operated shipyards on the West Coast of the United States, East Coast of the United States and the Gulf. Todd Shipyards were a major part of the Emergency Shipbuilding Program for World War II.
Union Iron Works, located in San Francisco, California, on the southeast waterfront, was a central business within the large industrial zone of Potrero Point, for four decades at the end of the nineteenth and beginning of the twentieth centuries.
Concrete ships are built primarily with ferrocement hulls, reinforced with steel bars. This contrasts against more traditional materials, such as pure steel or wood. The advantage of ferrocement construction is that materials are cheap and readily available, while the disadvantages are that construction labor costs are high, as are operating costs. During the late 19th century, there were concrete river barges in Europe, and during both World War I and World War II, steel shortages led the US military to order the construction of small fleets of ocean-going concrete ships, the largest of which was the SS Selma. United States Maritime Administration (MARAD) designation for concrete ships-barges was Type B ship. Few concrete ships were completed in time to see wartime service during World War I, but during 1944 and 1945, concrete ships and barges were used to support U.S. and British invasions in Europe and the Pacific. Since the late 1930s, there have also been ferrocement pleasure boats.
Bethlehem Steel Corporation Shipbuilding Division was created in 1905 when the Bethlehem Steel Corporation of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, acquired the San Francisco shipyard Union Iron Works. In 1917 it was incorporated as Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation, Limited.
Coastal trading vessels, also known as coasters or skoots, are shallow-hulled ships used for trade between locations on the same island or continent. Their shallow hulls mean that they can get through reefs where deeper-hulled seagoing ships usually cannot, but as a result they are not optimized for the large waves found on the open ocean. Coasters can load and unload cargo in shallow ports. For Europe inland waterways regulated to 33,49 m beam.
North Carolina Shipbuilding Company was a shipyard in Wilmington, North Carolina, created as part of the U.S. Government's Emergency Shipbuilding Program in the early days of World War II. From 1941 through 1946, the company built 243 ships in all, beginning with the Liberty ship SS Zebulon B. Vance, and including 54 ships of the US Navy. Most of the latter were attack cargo ships (AKA), amphibious force flagships (AGC) and ammunition ships (AE). A list of all 54 Navy ships appears at the end of this article, as does a link to a detailed record of all ships built by the company.
Type C3-class ships were the third type of cargo ship designed by the United States Maritime Commission (MARCOM) in the late 1930s. As it had done with the Type C1 ships and Type C2 ships, MARCOM circulated preliminary plans for comment. The design presented was not specific to any service or trade route, but was a general purpose ship that could be modified for specific uses. A total of 162 C3 ships were built from 1939 to 1946.
Tampa Shipbuilding Company, or TASCO, was one of a number of shipyards in Tampa, Florida. It operated from 1917 to after World War II, closing in 1947. The site is now Gulf Marine Repair which operates with floating dry docks.
Sun Shipbuilding & Drydock Company (1917–1989) was a major shipbuilding company in Chester, Pennsylvania on the Delaware River.
The Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Corporation was an American corporation which built escort carriers, destroyers, cargo ships and auxiliaries for the United States Navy and merchant marine during World War II in two yards in Puget Sound, Washington. It was the largest producer of destroyers (45) on the West Coast and the largest producer of escort carriers of various classes (56) of any United States yard active during World War II.
MS West Honaker was a diesel-powered cargo ship of the United States Maritime Commission (USMC) that was part of the "Corncob Fleet" of old ships sunk as part of the "gooseberry" breakwater off Utah Beach during the Normandy invasion. The ship was originally built as SS West Honaker, a steam-powered cargo ship built for the United States Shipping Board (USSB), a predecessor of the USMC. At the time of her completion in 1920, the ship was inspected by the United States Navy for possible use as USS West Honaker (ID-4455) but was neither taken into the Navy nor ever commissioned under that name.
Type N3-S ships were a Maritime Commission small coastal cargo ship design to meet urgent World War II shipping needs, with the first of the 109 N3, both steam and diesel, type hulls delivered in December 1942.
Edison Chouest Offshore (ECO), which started as Edison Chouest Boat Rentals in 1960, is family of companies in the marine transportation business based in Cut Off, Louisiana. ECO owns and operates a fleet of platform supply vessels, Subsea Construction / IMR vessels, a Riserless Light Well Intervention vessel, Anchor handling tug supply vessels, Oil Spill Response Vessels, and Well Stimulation Vessels, as well as an independently owned fleet of Research Vessels and Ice Breakers.
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.
The Type B ship is a United States Maritime Administration (MARAD) designation for World War II barges. Barges are very low cost to build, operate and move. Barges were needed to move large bulky cargo. A tug boat, some classed as Type V ships, could move a barge, then depart and move on to the next task. That meant the barge did not have to be rushed to be unloaded or loaded. Toward the end of World War 2, some ships that had not been completed in time for the war were converted to barges. US Navy barges are given the prefix: YWN or YW. Due to shortage of steel during World War II, concrete ship constructors were given contracts to build concrete barges, with ferrocement and given the prefix YO, YOG, YOGN. Built in 1944 and 1945, some were named after elements.
SS Benjamin Contee was an American Liberty Ship type EC2-S-C1 built in 1942 by the Delta Shipbuilding in New Orleans, Louisiana as part of the Emergency Shipbuilding Program for World War II. She was laid down on February 2, 1942, launched on June 15, 1942, and completed on August 7, 1942. She was operated by the Mississippi Shipping Company for the War Shipping Administration as a United States Merchant Marine ship. She was a Maritime Commission design. Like other Liberty ships, she was 441 feet (134 m) long and 56 feet (17 m) wide, carried 9000 tons of cargo and had a top speed of 11 knots (20 km/h). Most Liberty ships were named after prominent deceased Americans. She was converted from a cargo ship to a troop transport ship. She is named after Benjamin Contee, an American Episcopal priest and statesman from Maryland. He was an officer in the American Revolutionary War, a delegate to the Confederation Congress, and a member of the first United States House of Representatives.
Bethlehem Beaumont Shipyard was a shipyard in Beaumont, Texas that opened in 1948. The yard is located on an island in the Neches River and upstream of the Sabine Pass that grants access to the Gulf of Mexico. The deep-water port shipyard was founded in 1917 as the Beaumont Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Company. Beaumont Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Company started as a World War I Emergency Shipbuilding Program yard.
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Naval Operating Base Terminal Island, was United States Navy base founded on 25 September 1941 to support the World War II efforts in the Pacific War. Naval Operating Base Terminal Island was founded by combining Naval Facilities in cities of San Pedro, Long Beach and Wilmington, California under one command. Much of the base was on the man-made Terminal Island, and harbor in San Pedro Bay. The harbor was made through the construction of a large breakwater system.