Shipbuilders of Liberty Ships
Over 2,700 Liberty ships were constructed from 1941 to 1945 in seventeen shipyards throughout the country. These World War II ships were powered by steam reciprocating engines. The engines and the steam powered auxiliary machinery all used asbestos insulation.
There were thousands of pounds of asbestos insulating materials used on each of these ships. Shipyard workers were exposed to these asbestos products on a regular basis as they worked three shifts each day to build these vessels as quickly as possible for the wartime effort. Seamen who later sailed on these ships were exposed to the asbestos dust generated through the routine operation and maintenance of the asbestos-covered equipment, machinery, and piping.
Liberty ships were built at seventeen shipyards located along the Atlantic, Pacific and Gulf coasts.
- Alabama Drydock and Shipbuilding, Mobile, Alabama
- Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard, Baltimore, Maryland
- California Shipbuilding Corp., Los Angeles, California
- Delta Shipbuilding Corp., New Orleans, Louisiana
- J.A. Jones Construction Company, Panama City, Florida
- J.A. Jones Construction Company, Brunswick, Georgia
- Kaiser Company, Vancouver, Washington
- Marinship, Sausalito, California
- New England Shipbuilding Corporation, South Portland, Maine, East and West Yards
- North Carolina Shipbuilding Company, Wilmington, North Carolina
- Oregon Shipbuilding Corporation, Portland, Oregon
- Permanente Metals Corporation, Richmond, California (a Kaiser facility)
- Yard No. 1
- Yard No. 2
- St. Johns River Shipbuilding, Jacksonville, Florida
- Southeastern Shipbuilding, Savannah, Georgia
- Todd Houston Shipbuilding, Houston, Texas
- Walsh-Kaiser Co., Inc., Providence, Rhode Island
