14 Public Shipyards

Since the nation's earliest days, the U.S. Navy has operated its own shipyards.  There were 13 in total, four of which are still active.  The Navy terminated or cancelled almost all new ship construction contracts at the end of WWII and only a few new ships were built in the Naval Shipyards thereafter.  All new ship construction in the Naval Shipyards formally ended in 1972, after publication of a report demonstrating that ships built in Naval Shipyards cost, on average, about 30% more than ships built by private-sector shipbuilders.  In addition to the Naval Ship Yards, the U.S. Coast Guard maintains its own yard in Baltimore MD.  Note also that, during the Civil War, there were numerous additional shipyard facilities operated by both sides.  The 14 public shipyards included here are in two groups: there are five yards that are still active, although none build new ships any more, and nine that have been deactivated and converted to other uses.

ACTIVE PUBLIC SHIPYARDS (5)

Norfolk NSY (1767-present) maintains ships of the Atlantic Fleet.

Pearl Harbor NSY (1908-present) maintains ships of the Pacific Fleet.

Portsmouth NSY (1800-present) maintains nuclear submarines of the Atlantic Fleet.

Puget Sound NSY (1901-present) decommissions nuclear-powered ships and submarines.

The Coast Guard Yard (1899-present) maintains Coast Guard cutters and craft.

INACTIVE PUBLIC SHIPYARDS (9)

Boston NSY (1800-1974) was turned over to the National Parks Service.  The big dock in the South Boston annex is occasionally used by private-sector contractors.

Charleston NSY (1901-1996) was turned over to the City of Charleston.  It became an industrial park: part of it, including all the docks, is leased to Detyens Shipyards.

Long Beach NSY (1943-1997) was turned over to the City and Port of Long Beach.  It is now a container terminal.

Mare Island NSY (1854-1996) was turned over to the National Parks Service.

New York NSY (1800-1966) was turned over to the City of New York.  It became an industrial park: part of it, including the big docks, was leased, for a short time, to Seatrain Shipbuilding, which failed.  The dry-docks are still used by private-sector contractors.

Pensacola NSY (1825-1911) was converted into a naval air station in 1914.

Philadelphia NSY (1801-1996) was turned over to the City of Philadelphia.  It became an industrial park: part of it, including the two big docks, is leased to Aker Philadelphia Shipyard, while the smaller docks are leased to Atlantic Marine.

San Francisco NSY (1941-1969) was turned over to the City of San Francisco.  It has never been put to effective re-use.

Washington NSY (1799-1883) was retained by the Navy and is now used for a variety of shore establishments.