Philadelphia Naval Shipyard
The Philadelphia Naval Shipyard has a great deal of history attached to it. It is the oldest shipyard in the history of the United States, and is responsible for building some of the greatest ships of our time. It dates back to 1799 when Congress allocated $522,000 for the purchase of land for the yard. At the time, Philadelphia was thought to be a great location for a shipyard and as the city increased in size the naval yard did as well.
Although many records state that the base was in fact inadequate during the Civil War, there were many additions made during this time. At the turn of the century, the focus shifted from ship building to a major repair facility for vessels, although it was involved in some ship construction.
Its contribution to the United States Navy increased greatly during the First World War. It changed from a repair shipyard into a multi-faceted yard. Barracks were added as well as a chemical laboratory, a POW camp for German ship crews, as well as a Naval Aircraft Factory.
The busiest time for the shipyard was from 1937 to 1941. During this time, they had more than 45,000 employees. These employees built 53 ships and repaired over 600 of them during this four year span. There were a variety of ships that would later become famous that were built during this time as well. The carriers Princeton and Valley Forge, the battleships New Jersey and Wisconsin and the destroyers Butler and Gherardi were all built during this time. Each of these vessels had incredible speed that was very influential at the time.
Once the chaos of World War II was over, the focus once again returned to repair and overhaul since the demand for new ships had deteriorated. As a member of the Service Life Extension Program, the Philadelphia shipyard worked to rebuild outdated aircraft carriers.
The shipyard is located at League Island, Pennsylvania. It is at the meeting place of the Delaware and Schuylkill Rivers. The total space that it covers is a whopping 904 acres and the industrial area comprises 360 acres. This includes the 29,044 lineal feet of berthing space as well.
In 1991, the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission recommended that the yard be closed. However, it decided that the yard would perform the Service Life Extension Program for the USS Kennedy from 1993 until 1996. This eventually changed to a 24-month overhaul. The overhaul was completed in September of 1995.
In order to successfully complete a complex overhaul on an aircraft carrier while maintaining the trade skill mix, it is important to maximize the amount of ship repair work by having a workforce larger than what would be required for a carrier overhaul. At the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, there was an analysis of carrier overhauls that showed that work on carriers averaged 66 percent of all of the ship work at any one time between the years 1981 and 1992. During 1991 and 1992, carrier work took over 77 percent of the total work load.
Before the project got cancelled, 88 percent of the work to be done during the first half of 1993 was on one single carrier. This carrier was called the USS Forrestal. It arrived at the yard in September 1992 for a 14 month overhaul. However, it was ended in 1993 when the ship was designated for decommissioning.
Prior to being shut down permanently in 1996, there were 7,000 employees. In 1994, a case was brought to the Supreme Court. There were many alleged violations and it was ultimately recommended that the shipyard be closed down. There were many months of negotiations that ensued. Eventually, there was an agreement signed to modernize the yard. This included a public investment of $395 million in funding from state, local and federal sources. Public bodies will retain ownership of the yard and are permitted to reclaim it should Kvaerner, the company that bought it, reduce ship production significantly.
Kvaerner will be responsible for designing container and tanker ships. They have access to some of the world's most advanced robotics technology and are sure to impress with their new innovations. They are Europe's largest shipbuilder. They are also recognized as a world-wide leader in high tech transportation. Their facility in Philadelphia is their first in the US and they have since put their North American headquarters in Philadelphia.
