The Western Dry Dock and Shipbuilding Company was a shipyard that operated at

Port Arthur, Ontario Port Arthur was a city in Northern Ontario, Canada, located on Lake Superior. In January 1970, it amalgamated with Fort William and the townships of Neebing and McIntyre to form the city of Thunder Bay. Port Arthur had been the district seat o ...

, now part of

Thunder Bay Thunder Bay is a city in and the seat of Thunder Bay District, Ontario, Canada. It is the most populous municipality in Northwestern Ontario and the second most populous (after Greater Sudbury) municipality in Northern Ontario; its population i ...

, on

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from 1911 to 1993. The shipyard was established in 1909 and renamed in 1916 as the Port Arthur Shipbuilding Company. The yard closed in 1993. It reopened as a repair yard Lakehead Marine and Industrial, however that venture failed in 2014. As of 2016, the shipyard was purchased by Heddle Marine. It is operated by Heddle Marine in partnership with Fabmar Metals Inc, of Thunder Bay. The venture focuses on ship repair services and winter layup options. Its dry dock and shops were constructed in 1910 and located at Bare Point at the extreme eastern end of the Thunder Bay harbour. The company built and repaired many ships during its years of operation, including warships during the

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History

Beginning

Entrepreneur James Whalen began the company in 1909. Letters patent issued at Port Arthur in February 1909 and construction began in 1910 after negotiations with The American Ship Building Company, which supplied top management and skilled workmen. The initial cost CAD$650,000. The officers at the time were James Whalen, President from 1910 to 1924; Irving S. Fenn from the American Ship Building Company, Secretary-Treasurer; and Hugh Simms, Superintendent. The first ship to enter the dry dock was ''Dunelm'', a cargo vessel that docked on 16 April 1911. The first passenger vessel was ''Hamonte'', which docked on 29 July 1911. 1914 marked the launching of ''W. Grant Norden'', later known as ''Donnacona'', a vessel that was completely built at Western Dry Dock. ''W. Grant Norden'' was the largest Canadian-built freighter on the

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for 20 years. 1914 also marked the construction and launch of SS ''Sicamous'' and , two steamships that operated on

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.Division of Canadian Shipbuilding and Engineering Limited. History of Port Arthur Shipbuilding Company. August, 1969.

Early 1900s

The company built many ships over next years, including warships for the First World War. In 1916, it was acquired by John Burnham of

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, who changed the name to Port Arthur Shipbuilding Company Limited. During the recession of the 1920s, production and employment dropped. The company was taken over by H.B. Smith and R.M. Wolvin ten years later, and business boomed during the Second World War.

Second World War

Port Arthur Shipbuilding Company constructed and delivered many ships and parts for the war. These included nine corvettes, six s 20 s, boilers and engines, and many aircraft components. Increasing business led to new buildings and equipment. The number of employees reached a peak in the July 1944 at 2150 employees (the average was 310).Port Arthur Shipbuilding Company archives. 1975.

Decline and end

The company was acquired by Canada Steamship Lines Limited in 1946. It continued to build ships, including three coasters, two of which were delivered to Chinese government, and six

hopper barge A hopper barge is a kind of non-mechanical ship or vessel that cannot move around by itself, unlike some other types of barges, that is designed to carry materials, like rocks, sand, soil and rubbish, for dumping into the ocean, a river or lak ...

s for the French government. Major constructions ceased after 1959, though the company continued to repair and renovate ships. The company became a subsidiary of Canadian Shipbuilding and Engineering Limited in 1987 and closed in 1993. It reopened as a repair yard called Lakehead Marine and Industrial Inc., which continued to operate until 2014. Lakehead Marine and Industrial announced its bankruptcy and sold off its assets at auction in November 2014.

Purchase and re-development

Heddle Marine purchased the property in 2016 and operates as a ship repair and winter layup facility.

Grounds and facilities

The dry dock is long and wide (Seawaymax capacity). There is usually of water over the sill of the dry dock, depending on the level of Lake Superior. The dock is pumped by two direct current pumps that can empty the dock in four hours, discharging 1,000,000 gallons per hour. The company had modern shops for mill work, pulp and paper machinery, general machine shop work, structural steel, power and heating, boilers and tanks, iron, and brass and aluminum castings. At the time of its construction, the machine shop contained the largest vertical boring mill between

Toronto, Ontario Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

and

Vancouver, British Columbia Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. The ...

. The plant covered 35 acres and was located at the north of Lakehead Harbour. There were 76 buildings with a roofed area of .

Ships built

* ''Hamiltonian'' (steel package freighter, 1912) * ''Calgarian'' (package freighter, 1913) * '' Noronic'' (passenger steamer, 1913) * ''Nasookin'' (passenger steamer, 1913) * ''Sicamous'' (passenger steamer, 1914) * ''W. Grant Morden'' (lake bulk carrier, 1914) * ''Blaamyra'' (ocean freighter, 1916) * ''Thorjerd'' (ocean freighter, 1916)

Warships built

Flower-class corvette

''Bangor''-class minesweeper

''Algerine''-class minesweeper (Royal Canadian Navy)

''Algerine''-class minesweeper (Royal Navy)

Bay-class minesweeper

References

External links

List of ships built at Port Arthur Shipbuilding

Nextlibrary
features historic photographs of Northwestern Ontario, including the Western Dry Dock and Shipbuilding Company.

{{Coord, 48, 27, 11, N, 89, 10, 45, W, type:landmark_region:CA-ON, display=title Shipbuilding companies of Canada Former defence companies of Canada Manufacturing companies established in 1909 Companies based in Thunder Bay History of Thunder Bay 1909 establishments in Ontario Manufacturing companies disestablished in 2014 2014 disestablishments in Ontario Canadian companies established in 1909 History of shipbuilding in Ontario