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.[1]

Quick Facts Predecessor, Founded ...
Vigor Shipyards
PredecessorTodd Pacific Shipyards
Founded
  • 1916 - William H. Todd Corporation
  • 2011 - Vigor Shipyards
Number of locations
4
ParentVigor Industrial (2011)
Websitevigor.net
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From bottom left, Jumbo ferry M/V Spokane, USS Vandegrift (FFG-48), USS Halyburton (FFG-40) (center) under construction at 80% completion, USS Downes (FF-1070), and other ships at Todd Shipyards in Seattle, 1983

Vigor Shipyards

In February 2011, Vigor Industrial purchased Todd for US$130 million.[2] This included the Seattle, Everett and Bremerton operations. Today, Vigor Shipyards is a government repair subsidiary of Vigor Industrial.[3]

Originally, the Coast Guard wanted to acquire 25 Offshore Patrol Cutters (OPC) and spend about $8 billion for them. In April 2013, it was reported that Vigor proposed an Ulstein X-bow hull in the design competition for the OPC vessels.[4] If successful in landing the contract, Vigor would have assembled the vessels at its Portland, Ore., shipyard. However, in February 2014, the USCG announced that Bollinger Shipyards, Eastern Shipbuilding, and General Dynamics Bath Iron Works had been awarded design contracts for the OPC.[5]

In September 2017, Vigor was contracted to produce the US Army's Maneuver Support Vessel (Light).

Todd Shipyards

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 Co., Erie Basin, Brooklyn, New York.[6] That acquisition was followed by acquisition of the Tebo Yacht Basin, Brooklyn, and the Seattle Construction and Dry Dock Company.[7]

The Seattle shipyard traces its history back to 1882, when Robert Moran opened a marine repair shop at Yesler's Wharf. This shop became the Moran Brothers Shipyard in 1906 and the Seattle Construction & Dry Dock Company at the end of 1911.

The shipyard has performed building and maintenance work for, among others, the U.S. and Royal Australian Navies, the United States Coast Guard, and the Washington State Ferries. Its headquarters and operations are on Harbor Island at the mouth of Seattle's Duwamish Waterway. Todd ranked 26th among United States corporations in the value of World War II production contracts.[8][9]

The 105-foot-long (32 m) hull of Disneyland's Mark Twain riverboat was built at Todd Shipyards in San Pedro, California, in 1955. Frank Sinatra worked after high school as a rivet catcher at Todd Shipyard in Hoboken, New Jersey. From 1940 to 1945, during World War II, Todd Shipyards built or repaired 23,000 ships in many shipyards with 57,000 workers. Todd Shipyards came out of Chapter 11 protection in 1991, and continues shipyard on the west coast. In 1995 Todd branched out and started a radio subsidiary company called Elettra Broadcasting Corporation. Elettra Broadcasting operated three FM radio stations in Carmel.[10]

Locations

Vigor current locations

Vigor currently operates four shipyards, in the Pacific Northwest:[11]

Todd Shipyards locations

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Master of Ceremonies and Vice President of Todd Pacific Shipyards Corporation, Hans K. Schaefer, speaks during christening and launching ceremonies for the guided missile frigate USS Reid (FFG-30) at the Todd Pacific Shipyards Corp., Los Angeles Division, 1981, which closed in 1989.

New York

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The Erie Basin in 1945

Los Angeles and San Francisco

  • Todd Alameda (San Francisco Division), Alameda, California. to the west of Webster Street (37.79057°N 122.28812°W / 37.79057; -122.28812).[24] Opened in 1940 by the United Engineering Company. Mostly used as a repair or conversion facility, it was closed in 1956.[25] The Bethlehem Alameda Works Shipyard to the east of Webster Street was leased by Todd according to,[26] 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 37.920887°N 122.362920°W / 37.920887; -122.362920.[27][28] 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: Ocean Victory, Ocean Vigour, Chief Ouray, Logan Victory and Northeastern Victory.

Puget Sound, Washington

Houston / Galveston

  • Todd Galveston, Texas (29.3154°N 94.794°W / 29.3154; -94.794) 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.[37][38][39]

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Houston shipyard (right) in 1944, Brown S.B., later Todd Houston (left)
  • Facilities (MCc-ESP-3, MCc-ESP-604, MCc-19054): $13,081,267.95
  • 208 EC2-S-C1 (built July 1941 - March 1945)
    • MCc-ESP-12, $34,586,494.42
      • Sam Houston (MC-95) ... Joseph T. Robinson (MC-119)
      • only built on ways 1 through 6
    • MCc-ESP-602, $16,447,537.33
      • Stephen F. Auston (MC-265) ... Stephen C. Foster (MC-276)
      • only built on ways 7, 8, 9
    • MCc-ESP-603, $33,333,892.35
      • William Eustis (MC-828) ... E. A. Peden (MC-859)
    • MCc-13099, $32,293,383.60
      • Sam Houston II (MC-1936) ... Henry Austin (MC-1966)
    • MCc-15923, $91,389,292.53
      • Charles Morgan (MC-2420) ... Isaac Van Zandt (MC-2431)
      • John G. Tod (MC-2908) ... Edward N. Hinton (MC-3003)
  • 14 T1-M-BT2 (delivered July 1945 - December 1945)
    • DA-MCc-859, $12,983,883.50
      • Tarascon (MC-2636) ... Taveta (MC-2649)
  • Total fees and profits received on all the cost-plus contracts: $7,510,000
More information Way, Date ...
First keel laid
WayDate
123 Oct 1941
223 Oct 1941
325 Jul 1941
425 Jul 1941
518 Jul 1941
618 Jul 1941
723 Oct 1941
830 Dec 1941
930 Dec 1941
Liberty Launchings
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecTotal
1942124235444534
194356667667477572
194456868867788784
194587318
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References

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