Berg Shipbuilding Company

Berg Shipbuilding Company was a Seattle, Washington shipyard active during the early 1930s. Incorporated on 3 January 1930, it established its yard a few weeks later at the foot of 26th Avenue NW in the Ballard neighborhood. The company was founded by Andrew B. Berg, H. A. Schurman, and Oscar Pripp, with Berg serving as president and Schurman as secretary. Its original capitalization was $30,000, and the company entered the market during a period when Seattle supported a varied marine-construction industry serving commercial operators, fishing businesses, and government agencies. The yard's early work included two purse seiners. Its capabilities extended across a broad range of vessel types, from wooden sailboats to steel trollers. Berg Shipbuilding Company subsequently received contracts connected with the United States government, including the construction of the United States Lighthouse Tender Hemlock, commonly identified as USLHT Hemlock. That contract exposed the limits of the young firm's experience and production infrastructure. Berg lacked the facilities and expertise to fabricate major portions of a steel vessel of Hemlock's size, so it depended on subcontractors and then assembled the components at its own yard. Construction of Hemlock became the company's central business crisis. Andrew Berg, company employees, and the government inspector assigned to the project disagreed about construction methods and execution. Berg and Schurman left the company in late 1933. George Nelson, a general contractor, then assumed the presidency and became the company's owner. In the same year, the company's capitalization had been increased to $80,000, but the additional capital did not prevent the Hemlock project from becoming financially and operationally damaging. Hemlock was ultimately delivered 238 days late. The company was assessed $38,000 in liquidated damages, and litigation arising from the contract continued for more than a decade. Berg Shipbuilding Company did not survive the dispute and ceased operating before the legal matters were fully concluded. Its Ballard shipyard was taken over by Seattle Shipbuilding and Drydock Company in 1936. The corporation also failed to pay its license fees for three consecutive years and was automatically dissolved on 1 July 1938. The company is therefore best understood as a historical shipyard rather than a continuing commercial brand. Its importance lies in the range of vessels it attempted to build, its participation in Seattle's early-1930s maritime economy, and the difficulties a small yard faced when moving from relatively conventional wooden and fishing vessels to a larger government-contracted steel ship. Andrew B. Berg later established a similarly named Berg Shipbuilding Corporation in Blaine, Washington, but that later enterprise was distinct from Berg Shipbuilding Company.

Berg Shipbuilding Company emerged in Seattle during the early 1930s, when the city's maritime economy supported shipyards building fishing boats, commercial craft, and vessels for public agencies. Andrew B. Berg, H. A. Schurman, and Oscar Pripp incorporated the company on 3 January 1930. The yard was established shortly afterward at the foot of 26th Avenue NW in Ballard. Berg became president, while Schurman served as secretary. The enterprise began with capitalization of $30,000. The company's first contracts were for two purse seiners. It was not confined to one vessel category, however, and built craft ranging from wooden sailboats to steel trollers. This variety reflected the practical character of a small regional shipyard, which could pursue commercial and fishing work while seeking larger institutional contracts. In 1933, the company's capitalization was increased to $80,000. The construction of USLHT Hemlock marked a major escalation in technical and contractual demands. The vessel was a steel government lighthouse tender substantially larger and more complex than the work with which the company was experienced. Berg Shipbuilding Company lacked the facilities to manufacture important sections itself. It therefore relied on subcontractors to produce major components and assembled them at its own premises. Disagreements arose among Andrew Berg, company employees, and the government inspector concerning how the vessel should be built. The strain surrounding the project contributed to a leadership transition. Berg and Schurman left the business late in 1933, and George Nelson, a general contractor, assumed control as president and owner. Hemlock was eventually completed and delivered, but 238 days beyond the contractual schedule. The company was assessed $38,000 in liquidated damages. The dispute generated litigation that lasted for more than ten years, extending beyond the company's operating life. Berg Shipbuilding Company effectively disappeared as a functioning business before the Hemlock-related legal issues were resolved. Seattle Shipbuilding and Drydock Company took over the Ballard shipyard in 1936. Separately, the corporation failed to pay its license fees for three years and was automatically dissolved on 1 July 1938. Andrew Berg later founded Berg Shipbuilding Corporation in Blaine, Washington, a separate similarly named venture. The historical record presents Berg Shipbuilding Company as a small but varied Seattle shipyard whose ambitions exceeded its ability to execute a large steel government vessel. Its story illustrates the financial, technical, and contractual risks involved when a regional yard moved from smaller wooden and fishing craft into complex public-sector shipbuilding.

1. 1938Corporate dissolution

   The corporation was automatically dissolved on 1 July 1938 after failing to pay license fees for three years.

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2. 1936Ballard yard takeover

   Seattle Shipbuilding and Drydock Company took over Berg Shipbuilding Company's former Ballard shipyard.

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3. 1933Capitalization increase and management transition

   The company's capitalization rose from $30,000 to $80,000. Andrew B. Berg and H. A. Schurman left late in the year, and George Nelson became president and owner.

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4. 1930Incorporation and opening of the Ballard shipyard

   Berg Shipbuilding Company was incorporated on 3 January 1930 and opened its yard at the foot of 26th Avenue NW in Seattle's Ballard neighborhood a few weeks later.

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A small, versatile Seattle shipyard serving commercial, fishing, and government vessel-construction needs during the early 1930s.

• Purse seinersFishing vessels

  The company's first reported contracts were for two purse seiners. These vessels served commercial fishing operations and represented the kind of regional marine construction for which the young Ballard yard initially competed.

• Wooden sailboatsSmall craft

  Berg Shipbuilding Company built wooden sailboats as part of a broad portfolio of smaller craft. Their inclusion demonstrates that the yard worked across traditional wooden construction as well as more demanding steel projects.

• Steel trollersFishing vessels

  Steel trollers were among the vessel types associated with the yard. They formed part of the company's effort to serve fishing operators while developing experience beyond wooden boatbuilding.

• USLHT HemlockGovernment service vessel

  USLHT Hemlock was a steel United States lighthouse tender built under government contract. Its construction was the company's most consequential project, exposing shortcomings in its ability to fabricate major steel components and contributing to severe delays, damages, and prolonged litigation.

• 1933Expansion into a large government steel-vessel contractStrategy

  The yard had experience with smaller and varied craft, including fishing vessels, but undertook construction of the substantially more complex steel lighthouse tender USLHT Hemlock.

  What changed. Berg Shipbuilding Company accepted the Hemlock project and used subcontractors to produce major parts that it could not manufacture at its own facility.

  Aftermath. The vessel was delivered 238 days late. The company was assessed $38,000 in liquidated damages, leadership changed, and litigation continued for more than a decade.

  Liquidated damages. $38,000 assessed (After delivery of USLHT Hemlock)

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• 1938Berg Shipbuilding Company is automatically dissolved

  After failing to pay its license fees for three years, the corporation was automatically dissolved on 1 July 1938.

  BankruptcyOther
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• 1936Seattle Shipbuilding and Drydock Company takes over the Ballard yard

  The former Berg Shipbuilding site in Ballard was taken over by Seattle Shipbuilding and Drydock Company.

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• 1933Leadership changes follow difficulties on the Hemlock project

  Andrew B. Berg and H. A. Schurman left the company late in 1933, after which general contractor George Nelson became president and owner.

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• 1930Berg Shipbuilding Company is incorporated in Seattle

  The company was incorporated on 3 January 1930 and opened a shipyard in Ballard soon afterward.

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• Berg Shipbuilding Company receives the Hemlock construction contract

  The shipyard undertook construction of USLHT Hemlock, a government lighthouse tender whose size and steel construction tested the company's capabilities.

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• Berg Shipbuilding Company is assessed liquidated damages over delayed delivery

  USLHT Hemlock was delivered 238 days late, resulting in an assessment of $38,000 in liquidated damages and litigation that continued for more than a decade.

  LawsuitOther
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1. Berg Shipbuilding Company