History
The oldest structure sometimes identified as a dockyard was built c. 2400 BC by the Indus Valley civilisation in the Harappan port city of Lothal (in present-day Gujarat, India).[2][3] Lothal engineers accorded high priority to the creation of a dockyard and a warehouse to serve the purposes of maritime trade. The name Naupactus, an ancient Greek city on the Gulf of Corinth, means "shipyard" (combination of the Greek words ναύς naus: "ship, boat"; and πήγνυμι pêgnumi, pegnymi: "builder, fixer").[4] Naupactus' reputation in this field extended back into legendary times – the site is traditionally identified by Greek authors such as Ephorus and Strabo as the place where a fleet was said to have been built by the legendary Heraclidae[5] Other early historical shipyards include Tel Abu Saifi, in the Northern Sinai, a 4th-century BCE, Ptolemaic Era, Egyptian dockyard, with two dry docks.[6] Narni was a shipyard of Ancient Rome.
In the Spanish city of Barcelona, the Drassanes shipyards were active from at least the mid-13th century until the 18th century, although at times they served as a barracks for troops as well as an arsenal. During their time of operation the Drassanes were continuously changed, rebuilt and modified, but two original towers and part of the original eight construction-naves remain today. From the 14th century, several hundred years before the Industrial Revolution, ships were the first items to be manufactured in a factory – in the Venice Arsenal of the Venetian Republic in present-day Italy. The Arsenal apparently mass-produced nearly one ship every day using pre-manufactured parts and assembly lines. At its height in the 16th century the enterprise employed 16,000 people. Spain built component ships of the Great Armada of 1588 at ports such as Algeciras or Málaga.[7] In the 17th and 18th centuries, shipyards developed in complexity, with yards such as Blackwall Yard (1614 to 1987), the Scotts Shipbuilding and Engineering Company in Greenock, Scotland (1711–1984) and the Kraljevica Shipyard (1729 and still operating) being established. Havana was long the only dockyard in the Caribbean during the colonial period, the Santísima Trinidad, the largest warship of its time, was built there in 1769. Royal Naval Dockyards in the UK also expanded at this time, (including Woolwich, Deptford, Chatham, Portsmouth and
The Industrial revolution saw the creation of many new shipyards around the world. In the UK, these included Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Co. Ltd (1837 to 1912), William Denny and Brothers in Dumbarton, Scotland (1840 to 1963), John Brown & Company, Scotland (1851 to 1972), Swan Hunter (1880 to 2006), Harland & Wolff – (1861 - still a working yard) and Cammell Laird (1828, still a working yard). In Europe, other examples include Blohm+Voss (1877) where Bismarck was constructed (still a major yard). Ulstein Verft in Norway was established in 1917 (still a working yard under the Ulstein Group). In France, Chantiers de l'Atlantique (STX France) was established in 1861 (and is still a working yard). 3. Maj was one of the largest shipyard in the Mediterranean, established in 1892 in Rijeka (it is still a working yard). SLKB Komarno (Komárno) – Slovak Shipyard Komárno was another European shipyard on the Danube (established in 1898). Jean Street Shipyard (1843–present) is the oldest continually operated shipyard in the U.S. Located on the Hillsborough River in Tampa, Florida. Gloucester Marine Railways in the US (1859–present) is the oldest working shipyard in New England, being located on Rocky Neck in Gloucester, Massachusetts.
During the late industrial revolution, British shipyards were among the largest in the world, including Harland & Wolff in Belfast, John Brown & Company at Clydebank (Glasgow) and Swan Hunter at Wallsend (Tyne).[8][9] By the 20th century, large shipyards were built during conflicts such as the First World War and Second World War. The Sun Shipbuilding & Drydock Co. in Chester, Pennsylvania was the largest shipyard in the world by 1945, employing some 40,000 workers and building hundreds of ships during the Second World War.[10][11] Other examples of historical US yards include Mare Island Naval Shipyard, Mare Island, California (1854 to 1996), New York Naval Shipyard (NYNSY), also known as the Brooklyn Navy Yard, the New York Navy Yard, and United States Navy Yard, New York (1801 to 1966), San Francisco Naval Shipyard, later Hunters Point Naval Shipyard, then Treasure Island Naval Station Hunters Point Annex (1941 to 1994) and
New shipyards were established after the war, a prominent example being the Gdańsk Shipyard in 1945, the birthplace of Solidarity Movement – (still a working yard). In the late 20th century, shipbuilding in countries such as the US and UK declined, with yards closing and new shipyards instead expanding in countries such as Japan, South Korea and China.[8][12] By the early 21st century, China became the worlds leading shipbuilder, with approximately 50% of global tonnage build at Chinese shipyards in 2023.[13] Since the early 2020s, shipyard capacity, design and infrastructure is changing in light of technological change and as the result of regulatory changes from the International Maritime Organization requiring ships to be built to operate more efficiently and with less pollution.[14]
