Astoria Voyage Repair Station
The Astoria Voyage Repair Station is located in Astoria, Oregon at the mouth of the Columbia River. The Astoria Voyage Repair Station is owned and operated by Cascade General, Inc.
This station is responsible for serving all of the US West Coast as a small vessel repair station. A full service repair station, they offer both on-site repair and will also travel to any location with trucks that can carry all the necessary welding gear as well as all the necessary tools for emergency repairs. They also have a wide variety of workboats and mobile and water cranes that they can use when necessary. The employees at Astoria are all experts in their respective fields, including machinery, piping, structural steel, electrical, rigging, blasting and coating. They perform a wide variety of repairs but mostly focus on emergency topside repairs. Its location makes it perfect for providing emergency repairs on vessels that are trading anywhere on the West Coast.
Astoria has built its reputation by providing quality, cost effective solutions for a vessel's repair needs. An invaluable tool in many different situations, Astoria can reach the entire west coast in a timely fashion, and fix most problems that arise. Because of decades of experience, Astoria has the technology to work on small tugs, barges, and larger super tankers. They also abide by all the regulatory standards of the industry.
However, like many shipyards and ship repair yards, asbestos was commonly used prior to the 1980's in many products that were used in shipbuilding. Because of the incredible fire retardant properties of asbestos, it was an ideal product for insulation and strengthening different products. However, asbestos is an extremely dangerous substance, and the adverse effects of it were not understood until countless workers employed in shipyards and other industries began to develop diseases such as asbestosis and mesothelioma. When asbestos is used, small particles and fibers break off from the larger pieces of asbestos and become airborne. These particles can enter the respiratory system, leading to asbestosis and mesothelioma.
Mesothelioma is a very serious type of cancer. Additionally, it has a very long latency period, meaning that the symptoms of the disease do not become noticeable for decades. Because of this long latency period, many people who are infected with mesothelioma are not diagnosed until symptoms of the disease are present, which typically means that the disease is already in its late stages. Common symptoms include shortness of breath and pain in the abdomen and back.
Another common disease is asbestosis, which usually develops after working asbestos for an extended period of time. Welders, electricians and pipe fitters who worked on these ships are typically more prone to this disease than others. Although not as serious as mesothelioma, asbestosis can be deadly if left untreated. It is characterized by chronic shortness of breath and is known to be very debilitating it its later stages.
It is important to remember that countless shipyards used asbestos prior to it being banned by the government. The dangerous effects of the substance were simply not understood. While most ships have since been cleaned of asbestos, the damages had already been done and workers are being diagnosed with asbestos related diseases every day. Now, there are several lawsuits that are being launched against these companies by former employees due to their exposure.
