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Bethlehem Steel Company, Staten Island NY

(formerly Burlee Dry Dock [1895-1907], Staten Island Shipbuilding [1907-1929], United Dry Docks [1929-1934] and United Shipyards [1934-1938], now May Ship Repair)

Most recent update: September 22, 2011.

Burlee Dry Dock was started by William Burlee in 1895 and in 1898 took over the Port Richmond Iron Works.  The name was changed to Staten Island Shipbuilding in 1907 and the yard switched from wood to steel in 1916.  In 1925, they moved the yard from Port Richmond to Mariners Harbor.  In 1929, Staten Island Shipbuilding merged with Theodore A. Crane's Sons Co., which was in the Erie Basin in Brooklyn, James Shewan & Sons, which was at the foot of 27th Street in Brooklyn, W. & A. Fletcher & Co., which was in Hoboken, Morse Dry Dock & Repair Co., of Brooklyn, and New York Harbor Dry Dock Co., and christened the new organization United Dry Docks, although they very soon changed it to United Shipyards.  In the new structure, Shewan's 27th Street yard was used for the construction of barges and small vessels and the Mariners Harbor yard for larger vessels.  Bethlehem Steel bought the company in June 1938 and expanded its capabilities for the WWII effort, with the aid of $6mm from the Navy.  The yard closed in 1960.  The site is now occupied by May Ship Repair: see it from the air on Google here.   If anyone can fill any of the many gaps in the table below, please e-mail me at timcolton@aol.com

Hull # Name Original Owner Ship Type Tons Delivered Disposition
Built by Burlee Dry Dock in Port Richmond
112 Georges Creek Black, Sheridan, Wilson Co Tug 434 Mar-99 Scrapped 1935
118 Gypsum King J. B. King Tptn Co Tug 563 Jun-99 Wrecked 1906
145 Powel Baker Tptn Co Barge 1,204 Jan-00 Foundered 1920
152 Lehigh Easton & Amboy RR Co Tug 446 1900 Later Joseph V. Hogan 1936, scrapped 1953
Ganoga     204 1900  
Genosee     204 1900  
Mahanoy     204 1900  
Powel     1,204 1900  
  New York Central No.4 NY Central RR Ferry 457 1900  
  Admiral Dewey Berwind White Coal Tug 152 1900 Later Georgetown, now Helen McAllister, preserved in New York
  New York Central No.6 New York Central Ferry 453 1901  
177 Chicago Pennsylvania RR Co Ferry 1,334 1901 Scrapped 1952
  Independent     164 1901  
200 Standard Standard Oil Co Tug 374 May-01 Later Tuarrbu 1927, scrapped 1934
234 Rheclair D.G.Reid Yacht 539 Jul-02 Later Nirvana 1915, Druid 1916, .to USN 1917 as SP 321, sold 1919, then Maracay 1921, deleted 1927
235 Noma W.B.Leeds Yacht 763 Jul-02 To USN 1917 as SP 131, returned 1919, later tug Vega 1927, Salvatore Primo 1933, torpedoed and lost 1943
261 Cheektowaga Easton & Amboy RR Co Tug 331 Sep-02 Later Progress No. 9 1938
232 Larkspur U.S. Lighthouse Service Tender 703 Feb-03 Foundered 1948
238 Sumac U.S. Lighthouse Service Tender 582 1903 Later Oscar Lehtinenbu 1940, scrapped 1957
293 Arlington Erie RR Co Ferry 1,446 1903 Scrapped 1959
Edward J. Berwind     193 1903  
S.O. Co. No. 92 Standard Transportation Co.   3,248 1903  
315 Wellington Cook-Cummer S.S.Co Tug 334 Aug-04 In collision and sank 1926
326 Elmer A. Keeler   Tug 236 1904  
  LS-76 U.S. Lighthouse Service Lightship 450 May-04  
  Waverly   Tug 217 1904  
  T. J. Scully   Tug 130 1904  
  Nanuet   Tug 217 1904  
340 Richmond City of New York Ferry 2,006 Oct-05 Scrapped 1949
Washington     181 1905  
Waverley     1,000 1905  
    New York Board of Health Launch   1906  
346 Riverside City of New York Ferry 300 1906 Deleted 1954
360 Watuppa   Cargo ship 190 1906  
373 Gypsum King J. B. King Tptn Co Tug 581 Oct-06 Later Brooks Scanlon 1926, Samson 1935, deleted 1955
374 Mary F. Scully Scully Towing & Tptn Line Tug 723 Jan-09 Later tanker Huasteca Grande 1916, foundered 1920
390 Industry Havemyer & Elder  Tug 163 1906 Later Carrie T. Meseck, Delaware, Manie L. Piner, Bull, Sea Star, existence in doubt 2002
  New York Central No.5 New York Central Ferry 410 1906  
  Bernardsville   Cargo ship 181 1906  
Madison     181 1906  
Morristown     181 1906  
399 Wyoming Lehigh Valley RR Co Tug 398 Jan-07 Later Joseph J. Hockbu 1936, scrapped 1955
400 Irvington Lehigh Valley RR Co Tug 398 Mar-07 Wrecked 1914
413 Standard II/Security J. Sealy & Co Tug 397 1907 Later Foundation Security 1943, scrapped 1951
423 Jamestown Erie RR Co Ferry 1,538 Dec-07 Scrapped 1959
  Packerton   Ferry 430 1907  
No. 7     957 1907  
Chester     263 1908  
Built by Staten Island Shipbuilding in Port Richmond
    Holland Tunnel Caisson   1908 The New York end of the tunnel
  Powerful   Tug 176 1908  
449 P.I.T. Co. No. 8   Tug 236 1909 Later Empire, Titan, reefed 2004
489 Fulton   Tug 229 1909 To USN 1917 as SP 247, returned 1919 
  Clermont Hudson-Fulton Comm. Steamboat 155 1909 Replica of Fulton's steamboat
  Tulsa     607 1909  
  Elm City     379 1910  
502 Fleetwood M. P. Smith & Sons Co Floating crane 403 Apr-10 Later Commissioner 1912, Holdfast 1915, scrapped 1923
  Auburn Lehigh Valley RR Co Tug  241 1910  
532 Wildwood Pennsylvania RR Co Ferry 809 1911 Scrapped 1958
535 Karina Robert E. Tod 3-masted Schooner 590 1911 Later Undaunted 1920, Dauntless 1923, G. K. Dauntless 1942, wrecked 1951
553 Frederick D. Underwood B. & O. Railroad  Tug 217 1911 Scrapped 1967
  John C. Stuart   Tug 250 1911  
  P.R.R. No.1 Pennsylvania RR Tug 117 1911  
  P.R.R. No.11 Pennsylvania RR Tug 177 1910  
  P.R.R. No.34 Pennsylvania RR Tug 177 1910  
  Perth Amboy   Tug 221 1911  
  S. Q. Brown   Tug 165 1911 Later S. H. Edwards, Ticeline, Robert Aikman 1940
  Slatington   Tug 221 1911  
  Atlantic City   Tug 927 1912  
  James L. Morgan   Tug 181 1912  
  (YTT 1) U.S. Navy   600 1912 Later YHB 1
  New York Central No.28 NY Central RR Tug 508 1912  
  New York Central No.29 NY Central RR Tug 508 1912  
  Hamburg-America Line No. 3 Hamburg-America Line Tug 284 1913  
  S.O. Co. of NY No. 20 Standard Transportation Co. Tug 173 1913  
  S.O. Co. of NY No. 21 Standard Transportation Co. Tug 173 1913  
563 Perth Amboy Lehigh Valley RR Co Tug 452 Dec-12 Later Nancy Moran 1936, in collision and sank 1946
576 Pan-American The Texas Co Tug 344 Feb-13 Later Susan Moran 1924, Thomas Suri Salcedo 1940, wrecked 1943
601 Dolphin   Tug 288 1913 Later Bronx, Cove Point, now Verona
609 W. B. Keene Hilton-Dodge Lumber Co Tug 396 Oct-13 Sunk by mine 1942
623 Albert J. Stone Erie R.R. Co Tug 306 Nov-13 Later Planet 1923, Joseph J. O'Brien 1927, scrapped 1954
636 Bristol   Tug 284 1914  
  Black Diamond   Tug 243 1914  
  Maycliff   Tug 243 1914  
  Bethlehem   Tug 167 1915  
  Corbitant   Tug   1914 To USN 1942 as YT 354, to State Dept. 1947
  William J. Davidson   Tug   1914 Later Akron
642 Petrel Erie RR Co Tug 428 May-15 Later Chantecleer 1921, scrapped 1936
643 Gorgona Isthmian Canal Comm. Tug 351 1915 Later Equatorial 1949, deleted 65
645 Mexpet Mexican Petroleum Tug 238 1915 Later George F. McGraw 1954, active
650 D. E. McAllister McAllister Bros. Tug 202 1915 Later Angela M, Sissy Watson, existence in doubt 2009 
  Charles P. Crawford Erie Railroad Tug 171 1915 To USN 1917 as SP 366, returned 1919, later Binghampton
  Margaret Erie Railroad Tug   1915 Reefed off New Jersey
  Daniel W. Bigoney   Tug 106 1915  
  George M. Shriver B. & O. Railroad  Tug 260 1915 Scrapped 1968
  Tavernilla   Tug 351 1915  
  Athens   Tug 266 1916  
  Magnolia   Tug 182 1916  
  P.R.R. No. 141 Pennsylvania RR Tug 323 1916  
  S.T. Co. No. 22   Tug 170 1916  
  New York Central No. 14 NY Central RR Tug 556 1916 Scuttled in the 1960s
688 War Captain U.K. Shipping Controller Cargo Ship 2,385 Jul-17 Wrecked 1917
689 War Plane/Snug Harbor U.S. Shipping Board Cargo Ship 2,420 Nov-17 In collision and sank 1920
692 War Post/Mariners Harbor U.S. Shipping Board Cargo Ship 2,420 Jun-18 Later Sagn 1929, Sirehav 1933, Terek 1933, foundered 1945
693 War Toiler/Sag Harbor U.S. Shipping Board Cargo Ship 2,420 Aug-18 Scrapped 1937
694 War Trader/Bar Harbor U.S. Shipping Board Cargo Ship 2,420 Dec-18 Later Straum 1930, Balkhash 1933, sunk by a mine 1941
695 War Tramp/George Harbor U.S. Shipping Board Cargo Ship 2,420 Jun-19 Later Astra 1930, Ringen 1946, scrapped 1959
696 Tanager (AM 5) U.S. Navy Minesweeper 950 28-Jun-18 Shelled and lost 1942
697 Cardinal (AM 6) U.S. Navy Minesweeper 950 23-Aug-18 Lightship NY-2 until 1919, wrecked 1923
698 Oriole (AM 7) U.S. Navy Minesweeper 950 5-Nov-18 Later AT/ATO 136, scrapped 1952
699 Curlew (AM 8) U.S. Navy Minesweeper 950 7-Jan-19 Wrecked 1925
700 Grebe (AM 43) U.S. Navy Minesweeper 950 1-May-19 Later AT 134, wrecked 1942
701 Mallard (AM 44) U.S. Navy Minesweeper 950 25-Jun-19 Later ASR 4, sunk as target 1947
702 Ortolan (AM 45) U.S. Navy Minesweeper 950 17-Sep-19 Later ASR 5, sold 1947
703 Peacock (AM 46) U.S. Navy Minesweeper 950 27-Dec-19 In collision and sank 1940
704 Algorma (AT 34) U.S. Navy Tug 998 15-May-20 Later ATO 34, to NDRF 1947
705 Carrabasset (AT 35) U.S. Navy Tug 998 30-Jun-20 To USCG 1924 as WAT 35, struck 1946
706 Contocook (AT 36) U.S. Navy Tug 998 20-Aug-20 Later Sea Giant 1938, to Royal Navy 1940 as Sea Giant (W 125), returned 1946, deleted 1950s
707 Iuka (AT 37) U.S. Navy Tug 998 29-Oct-20 Later ATO 37, sold 1948 as Iuka
708 Keosanqua (AT 38) U.S. Navy Tug 998 9-Dec-20 Later ATO 38, Edward J. Coyle 1948, Commodore Straits 1960, scrapped 1968
709 Kineo/Montcalm (AT 39) U.S. Navy Tug 998 19-Jan-21 Later ATO 39, sold 1947
710-715 AT 40-45  U.S. Navy Tug 998   Cancelled
724 Veedol Tidewater Oil Tanker 1,224 Oct-20 Scrapped 1956
725 Franklin Texas Co. Tanker 2,842 Apr-21 Later Maine 1932, Pleiades 1956, scrapped 1968
726 Dixiano American Sugar Transit Co. Tanker 4,323 Jul-21 Scrapped 1950
728 Hell Gate Victor R. Browning Dipper Dredge      
  Delivery No. 5 Standard Transportation Co. Tank Barge 189 1920  
730 Socony 107 Standard Transportation Co. Tank Barge 402 1921  
733 Socony 113 Standard Transportation Co. Tank Barge 1,105 1921  
734 Socony 114 Standard Transportation Co. Tank Barge 1,105 1921  
735 Socony 115 Standard Transportation Co. Tank Barge 1,105 1921  
736 Wellfleet Staples Coal Co. Tug 430 1921 In collision and sank 1943
737 President Roosevelt New York City  Ferry 2,481 1921 Scrapped 1956
  Delivery No. 6 Standard Transportation Co. Tank Barge 241 1922  
  Monadnock     455 1923  
740 Youngstown New York City Ferry 1,553 1922 Later Chatham 1957, scrapped 1961
741 William Randolph Hearst New York City Ferry 875 1923 Later Whitehall 1930, scrapped 1938
742 Rodman Wanamaker New York City Ferry 875 1923 Scrapped 1949
743 George W. Loft New York City Ferry 875 1923 Later West Brighton 1930, scrapped 1949
744    . Tunnel Section   1923  
745    . Tunnel Section   1923  
746    . Tunnel Section   1923  
747 Catskill Catskill Evening Line Freighter 652 Aug-23 Later COL G. M. Grimes 1942, Catskill 1947, burnt 1970
748   NY & NJ Ferry Co. Ferry     Not built
749 P.R.R. 16 Pennsylvania RR Co. Tug 186 1924  
750 Van Dyke 1 Atlantic Refining Co. Tug 138 1924 Later Jered A McAllister, existence in doubt 2001
751 Van Dyke 2 Atlantic Refining Co. Tug 137 1924  
752 Van Dyke 3 Atlantic Refining Co. Tug 137 1924 Later Marjorie McAllister, Reid McAllister, existence in doubt 2009 
753 John A. Lynch New York City Ferry 593 Jul-25 Later Harlem 1930, GEN William H. Hart, preserved at South Street Seaport 1968
754 Henry Bruckner New York City Ferry 593 Aug-25 Later Tremont 1930, scrapped 1948
755 William T. Collins New York City Ferry 593 Sep-25 Later Astoria 1930
756 Albany New York Central RR Ferry 1,389 Nov-25 Scrapped 1965
757 Henry A. Meyer New York City Ferry 593 Dec-25 Later Williamsburg 1930, scrapped 1960
758 Frank A. Cunningham New York City Ferry 593 Dec-25 Later Flatbush 1930
764 American Legion New York City Ferry 2,089 Feb-27 Hulked 1963
765 New York Central No. 33 New York Central RR