Todd Shipyards

Quality 0.50 · 1 view · Updated 2 months ago

American shipbuilding and ship repair company

title: "Todd Shipyards" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["todd-shipyards", "american-companies-established-in-1916", "companies-that-filed-for-chapter-11-bankruptcy-in-1987", "companies-formerly-listed-on-the-new-york-stock-exchange", "defunct-companies-based-in-seattle", "defunct-shipbuilding-companies-of-the-united-states", "vehicle-manufacturing-companies-established-in-1916"] description: "American shipbuilding and ship repair company" topic_path: "geography/united-states" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Todd_Shipyards" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary American shipbuilding and ship repair company ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox company"]

FieldValue
nameTodd Shipyards Corporation
logoTodd-pacific-shipyards-logo.jpg
logo_captionTodd's logo in 2011
former_nameWilliam H. Todd Corporation
founderWilliam H. Todd
foundation1916
industry
subsidTodd Pacific Shipyards (Seattle Division, Los Angeles Division)
defunct2011
fateAcquired by Vigor Industrial
successorVigor Shipyards
::

| name = Todd Shipyards Corporation | logo = Todd-pacific-shipyards-logo.jpg | logo_caption = Todd's logo in 2011 | former_name = William H. Todd Corporation | predecessor = | founder = William H. Todd | foundation = 1916 | industry = | locations = | subsid = Todd Pacific Shipyards (Seattle Division, Los Angeles Division) | divisions = | defunct = 2011 | fate = Acquired by Vigor Industrial | successor = Vigor Shipyards | parent = | website =

The Todd Shipyards Corporation, commonly known as Todd Shipyards, was an American shipbuilding and ship repair company. Founded in 1916 as the William H. Todd Corporation, the company produced many ships during World War I and was a major part of the Emergency Shipbuilding Program during World War II. At its peak, the company owned and operated shipyards on the West Coast of the United States, East Coast of the United States, and the Gulf.

In the post-war years, Todd Shipyards performed building and maintenance work for, among others, the United States Navy and Royal Australian Navy, the United States Coast Guard, and the Washington State Ferries. The company filed for bankruptcy in 1987 after years of financial struggles. It resumed operations in 1991 as the Todd Pacific Shipyards Corporation after closing all locations except for its shipyard in Seattle, Washington.

The company continued more limited operations in the Puget Sound region of Washington until it was acquired by Vigor Industrial in 2011. Todd Shipyards became a wholly owned subsidiary of Vigor and operated under the name Vigor Shipyards for a number of years.

History

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/84/USS_Halyburton_FFG-40_under_construction.jpg" caption="FF-1070}} at Todd Shipyards in Seattle, 1983"] ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bd/MV_Chimacum_under_construction,_May_2016.jpg" caption="Chimacum}} under construction at Vigor Shipyards in 2016"] ::

Early history

Todd Shipyards was founded in 1916 as the William H. Todd Corporation when properties of the Tietjen & Lang Dry Dock Company of Hoboken, New Jersey, were bought in 1916 by a syndicate headed by Bertron Griscom & Company of New York and placed under management of William H. Todd, president of the Robins Dry Dock & Repair Company in Brooklyn, New York. That acquisition was followed by acquisition of the Tebo Yacht Basin, Brooklyn, and the Seattle Construction and Dry Dock Company.

World War II

From 1940 to 1945, during World War II, Todd Shipyards built or repaired 23,000 ships in many shipyards with 57,000 workers. Todd ranked 26th among United States corporations in the value of World War II production contracts.

Post-war development

In October 1977, the company created the Todd Pacific Shipyards Corporation as a wholly owned subsidiary by combining its Seattle Division and Los Angeles Division.

The Todd Shipyards Corporation was impacted by the 1983 Pacific Coast Metal Trades Union strike.

Todd Shipyards filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 1987. The company came out of Chapter 11 protection in 1991 as the Todd Pacific Shipyards Corporation after having shuttered all of its locations except for its shipyard in Seattle.

In 1995 Todd branched out and started a radio subsidiary company called Elettra Broadcasting Corporation. Elettra Broadcasting operated three FM radio stations in Carmel.

Acquisition by Vigor Industrial

In February 2011, Vigor Industrial purchased Todd Shipyards for US$130 million. This included Todd's shipyards in Seattle, Everett, and Bremerton. The company became a wholly owned subsidiary of Vigor and began operating as Vigor Shipyards after the acquisition.

Todd Shipyards locations

New York

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/85/03-4-4_Todd-Erie-25.jpg" caption="The Erie Basin in 1945"] ::

Brooklyn Hoboken Robins Dry Dock and Repair Company

  • Todd Brooklyn. Todd Shipyard's first facility was acquired in 1916, in Erie Basin in Brooklyn, New York, along the waterfront of the Red Hook neighborhood. As background, Erie Basin dry dock was the first graving dock in the United States, built at the site in 1866. J. N. Robins Company acquired it in 1869, then merged with Erie Basin Dry Dock Company, started by Delamater Iron Works, and was renamed the Robins Dry Dock and Repair Company. William H. Todd had worked for both Erie Basin Dry Dock and Robins Dry Dock. In 1916, Todd and some of his associates purchased Robins Dry Dock and Repair Company, the Tietjen & Lang Dry Dock Company of Hoboken in Weehawken Cove, the Seattle Construction and Drydock Company on the West Coast, the Tebo Yacht Basin Company, and the Gowanus shipyard in Brooklyn. The Erie Basin yard was sold in 1986 to Rodermond Industries, which closed in the 1990s.

Los Angeles and San Francisco

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/df/Todd_Pacific_Shipyards_VP_1981.jpg" caption="FFG-30}} at the Todd Pacific Shipyards Corp., Los Angeles Division, in 1981"] ::

Los Angeles

Alameda

  • Todd Alameda (San Francisco Division), Alameda, California. to the west of Webster Street (). Opened in 1940 by the United Engineering Company. Mostly used as a repair or conversion facility, it was closed in 1956. The Bethlehem Alameda Works Shipyard to the east of Webster Street was leased by Todd according to, but the Corps of Engineers survey 1953 claims it was owned and operated by Bethlehem.
  • Richmond shipyard No. 1 was a new shipyard built to support the demand for ships for World War 2. Kaiser purchased the contact and the Richmond yard to build type Ocean ship from the Todd Shipyards in 1940. Todd then Kaiser built yard No. 1 to build the Ocean ships. Yard No. 1 was built on unoccupied land with construction starting in December 1940. In April 1941 the keel for the first British bound Ocean ship was laid. The next series of ships built were Liberty ships, with the first keel laid on May 15, 1942. Needing faster cargo ships the next series of ships built were Victory ships, with the first keel laid on January 17, 1944. After the war, in 1946, the yard closed. Kaiser Richmond No. 1 Yard was at 700 Wright Ave, Richmond on the Parr Canal. The site now has general docks for construction supplies. Located at GPS . Built at Kaiser Richmond No. 1 Yard:* Ocean ship, 30 cargo ships, 7,174 GRT. (sometimes credited to Todd Shipyards Corporation), * Liberty ship, 138 model EC2-S-C1 ships, 7,176 GRT., * Victory ship, 82 Model VC2-S-AP3 ships, 7,612 GRT.,Notable ships: , , , and .

Puget Sound, Washington

Bremerton

Everett

  • Todd Everett Shipyard in 2008 Tood purchased Everett Shipyard, Inc. in Everett, Washington (). The site, Everett Ship Repair & Drydock, Inc., will continue ship repair work. Since 1960, the yard has served the Washington State Ferries and the United States Navy.

Houston / Galveston

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/52/08-2-2b_Houston-SB-25-not-Brown.jpg" caption="Houston shipyard (right) and [[Brown Shipbuilding]], later Todd Houston (left), in 1944"] ::

Galveston

  • Todd Galveston, Texas () opened in 1934. Todd took over the Galveston Dry Dock & Construction on Pelican Island. In 1943 Todd took over the yard next door, Gray's Iron Works and renamed the yards Todd Galveston Drydocks, Inc.. For World War II the yard built T1 Tankers T1-M-A1. Post-war they built three ferries for Texas. In 1949 Todd moved the main operation to the Brown Shipbuilding yard in Houston that they had leased. The Pelican Island Galveston yard was used only for ship repair and in 1965 also started tanker conversions, as Todd Shipyards Corporation, Galveston Division. Todd Galveston built Type C6 ships. Todd Galveston yard went into Chapter 11 and closed in 1990. The yard was sold. The yard had two Panamax floating dry-docks that were moved to the Alabama Shipyard and Bender Shipbuilding. In 1993, the remainder of Todd Galveston on Pelican Island was sold to the Port of Galveston. It is now part of Newpark Marine, Gulf Copper runs an offshore repair yard there. Southwest Shipyard now operates a shipyard at the side.

Houston Irish Bend

  • Todd Houston Shipbuilding, in Houston, Texas, was an emergency shipyard operated by Todd Shipbuilding Corp. and Kaiser Corp. to build ships for World War II. The company was formally established on 6 January 1941. The yard was built at Irish Bend (a former island in the Houston Ship Channel) . During the war Todd Houston employed 23,000 workers, built 208 Liberty ships and 14 T1-M-BT2 tankers. In 1946, after the war the yard closed. In 1949 the Brown Shipbuilding yard in Houston, now Todd's, became known as Todd Houston.

Houston Green Bayou

  • Todd Houston on the Buffalo Bayou () was opened in 1949, when Todd took over the Brown Shipbuilding's yard at Green's Bayou. Todd ran the yard as a barge construction and repair shop. Todd closed the operation in 1987 selling to Platzer Shipyard. The yard returned to Brown, which renamed it Brown & Root, a construction facility for the offshore drilling industry, which closed in 2004. The site is now the Brown Shipbuilding Industrial.

Other

  • Todd New Orleans, in 1934 Todd joined with Johnson Iron Works in New Orleans to build and repair shipyard called Todd-Johnson Dry Docks. Todd took over the yard and in 1987 sold the yard to Port of New Orleans.
  • Todd-Bath Iron Shipbuilding Corporation at South Portland, Maine opened in 1940 as an emergency shipyards to build Ocean class cargo ships for Britain. At the two yards , they built Liberty ships, closing after the war. The corporation was renamed New England Shipbuilding in 1943 after Kaiser sold its shares in the corporation. Durning the war New England Shipbuilding employed 30,000 workers.
  • Oregon Shipbuilding Company of Portland, Oregon () opened as a World War II emergency yard by Todd and Kaiser. Built in 1941 it opened with 8 shipways, with the high demand for ships it grew to 8 shipways. Soon after the shipyard opened Kaiser bought out Todd share in the shipyard. The yard built Liberty ships and Victory Ships. The yard closed after the war.
  • Todd Charleston, from 1946 to 1949 Todd operated for the US Navy the Charleston Dry Dock & Machine Company as repair yard. The yard was located in Charleston, South Carolina, on the Cooper River .
  • New Jersey Shipbuilding Company, at the US Navy's request for World War II Todd took over New Jersey Shipbuilding to build LCI. Landing Craft LCI(L) in 1942, the yard closed after the war. The yard was in Perth Amboy, New Jersey , the site is now Chevron asphalt plant.
  • Todd Mobile Drydock, Alabama. In 1936 this repair yard was leased to the nearby Alabama Drydock and Shipbuilding Company and stripped.

Gallery

|File:Todd-Erie-Basin-Women-War-Workers.jpg|Women welders on the way to their job at the Todd Erie Basin dry dock, circa 1943 |File:Alfred T. Palmer bolt cutting.jpg|Martha Bryant and Eulalie Hampden operating a bolt cutting machine — World War II home front, Todd Shipyards, Pennsylvania, 1943 |File:Todd-Drill-Press-Operator.jpg|Drill press operator in a Todd Shipyards machine shop, circa 1943 |File:Todd-Band-Saw-Operator.jpg|Band saw operator cutting metal pipe in a Todd Shipyards machine shop, circa 1943

Notes

References

Bibliography

References

  1. (July 1916). "Shipyard News". Aldrich Publishing Co..
  2. (October 1916). "Shipyard News". Aldrich Publishing Co..
  3. (1962). "The Weapons Acquisition Process: An Economic Analysis". [[Harvard Business School]].
  4. (July 31, 1981). "Todd Pacific Shipyards Corporation, Los Angeles Division: Long-Range Facilities – Plan. Contract MA-8O-SAC-O1O29".
  5. "Aerial view looking northeasterly, Todd Pacific Shipyards Corp, Seattle Division, 1977". [[Museum of History & Industry]].
  6. (July 27, 1983). "Around the Nation; 9 West Coast Shipyards Closed in Labor Dispute". The New York Times.
  7. (May 29, 2005). "Todd Shipyards still building after nearly 90 years". Puget Sound Business Journal.
  8. (15 February 2011). "Vigor completes $130M purchase of Todd Shipyards". Puget Sound Business Journal.
  9. "Companies". Vigor Industrial.
  10. (February 16, 2011). "Vigor Industrial completes acquisition of Todd Shipyards".
  11. "Todd Shipyards, Robins Dry Dock".
  12. (October 1916). "Shipyard News".
  13. "Todd to Shut Hoboken Shipyard And Shift the Work to Brooklyn". The New York Times.
  14. "Todd Shipyards Corporation". hoboken.pastperfectonline.com.
  15. "Hudson Reporter - The days of factories and shipbuilding Catching a glimpse of Hoboken s industrial past".
  16. "Sullivan Dry Dock".
  17. "Todd Los Angeles Division".
  18. "Container Facilities". [[Port of Los Angeles]].
  19. (1953). "Port Series". U.S. Government Printing Office.
  20. "Todd San Francisco Division".
  21. "Kaiser Permanente No. 1".
  22. "Richmond Shipyards".
  23. "Todd Tacoma Todd Dry Dock Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding".
  24. "Todd Seattle Moran Seattle Dry Dock Vigor Industrial".
  25. "Skinner & Eddy".
  26. J. Martin McOmber. (April 2, 2004). "Todd Pacific Shipyards lands deal to work on Navy aircraft carriers". The Seattle Times.
  27. "Joint Press Release Issued by Todd Shipyards and Vigor Industrial LLC". United States Securities and Exchange Commission.
  28. (July 10, 2006). "Todd Shipyards gets $5.2M Navy contract for Bremerton".
  29. "Home".
  30. "Todd Pacific Shipyards Corporation Announces U".
  31. (January 21, 2008). "State's top shipbuilder buys Everett Shipyard".
  32. "Todd Galveston".
  33. "Brown Shipbuilding".
  34. "Southwest Shipyard".
  35. (1946). "Investigation of Shipyard Profits". U.S. Government Printing Office.
  36. "Bureau of Ships, Aerial Photographs of U.S. Shipyards, 1943-1945".
  37. "Todd Houston Shipbuilding".
  38. "Todd Houston".
  39. "Johnson Iron Works".
  40. "New England Shipbuilding".
  41. "Charleston Shipbuilding".
  42. "New Jersey Shipbuilding".
  43. "Eighth Naval District (Cochrane Collection)".
  44. "Martha Bryant and Eulalie Hampden operating a bolt cutting machine".

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::

todd-shipyardsamerican-companies-established-in-1916companies-that-filed-for-chapter-11-bankruptcy-in-1987companies-formerly-listed-on-the-new-york-stock-exchangedefunct-companies-based-in-seattledefunct-shipbuilding-companies-of-the-united-statesvehicle-manufacturing-companies-established-in-1916