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]
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 105-foot-long (32m) 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]
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 USSReid(FFG-30) at the Todd Pacific Shipyards Corp., Los Angeles Division, 1981, which closed in 1989.
Todd Brooklyn. Todd Shipyard's first shipyard was in Brooklyn, New York, along the waterfront of the Red Hook neighborhood (40.6715°N 74.013°W / 40.6715; -74.013). William H. Todd purchased the Robins Dry Dock & Repair Company in 1916. Robins Dry Dock was founded in 1869, as Handren and Robins. The company was renamed J. N. Robins Co. in 1892 after Handren's death. J. N. Robins Co. merged with the Erie Basin Dry Dock Company, started by Delamater Iron Works, and renamed the Campony Robins Dry Dock & Repair. William H. Todd had worked for both Erie Basin and Robins Dry Dock. Todd and some of his associates also purchased the Tietjen & Lang Dry Dock Company of Hoboken in Weehawken Cove (40.75870°N 74.02376°W / 40.75870; -74.02376), and the Seattle Construction and Drydock Company on the West Coast. The Tebo Yacht Basin Company was the last of the four initial acquisitions in 1916.[12] It operated till 1937 when it was sold and became the Sullivan Drydock and Repair Corporation. The Erie Basin yard was sold in 1986 to Rodermond Industries which closed in the 1990s. Red Hook graving dock was a 730-foot-long (220m)graving dock located at site.[13] In 1917 Todd purchased the Gowanus shipyard in Brooklyn.[14][15][16] 1916–1965[17][18]
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.
Todd Tacoma Division, Commencement Bay, Tacoma, Washington opened in 1917 to build Design 1014 ship ships for the United States Shipping Board. It operated as part of Todd Dry Dock & Construction until shut down after World War I in 1924. The yard reopened in partnership with Kaiser Shipbuilding in 1939 as Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Corporation. The yard built 56 Bogue and Commencement Bay-classescort carriers and various auxiliaries. In 1942 Todd bought out Kaiser's share and the yard eventually became part of Todd Pacific Shipyards. Sold to the Navy after World War II, further sold to the Port of Tacoma in 1959. The site today is the Commencement Bay Industrial Development District.[29]
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]
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.[40] The yard was built at Irish Bend (a former island in the Houston Ship Channel) 29.743268°N 95.179876°W / 29.743268; -95.179876.[41] 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.[42]
Houston shipyard (right) in 1944, Brown S.B., later Todd Houston (left)
Todd Houston on the Buffalo Bayou (29.7483°N 95.177°W / 29.7483; -95.177) was opened in 1949, when Todd took over the Brown Shipbuilding's yard at Green's Bayou.[38] 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.[44]
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, which leases to Avondale Ship Repair. In [45]
Oregon Shipbuilding Company of Portland, Oregon (45.6312°N 122.7838°W / 45.6312; -122.7838) 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.
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 Jersey40.53469°N 74.25446°W / 40.53469; -74.25446, the site is now Chevron asphalt plant.[48]
"Shipyard News". International Marine Engineering. 21 (October 1916). New York/London: Aldrich Publishing Co.: 476 October 1916. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
Herman, Arthur. Freedom's Forge: How American Business Produced Victory in World War II, pp. 121, 124, 133, 137, 202, Random House, New York, NY, 2012. ISBN978-1-4000-6964-4.
Herman, Arthur. Freedom's Forge: How American Business Produced Victory in World War II, p. 124, 178, Random House, New York, NY, 2012. ISBN978-1-4000-6964-4.
