Levingston Shipbuilding Company, Orange TX

Levingston Shipbuilding, which dates back to before the Civil War, when it converted river steamers to gunboats for the Confederate States Navy, was the Navy's leading builder of ocean tugs in WWII and continued in that market after the war.  When the offshore market developed, Levingston was in the forefront, developing and building many of the early designs.  It was the only U.S. builder of all five types of offshore drilling rigs and established what is now Keppel FELS in the business (the L in FELS stands for Levingston).  Levingston was privately held until 1977, when it was acquired by Ashland Oil, but Ashland never had a clear strategy for the business and sold it in 1982 to the company's President, Ed Paden.  Levingston closed in 1985, after the offshore market collapsed, and the facility was liquidated.  See the site of the shipyard from the air on Google here.  The yard has now reverted to being a mud-bank in the middle of the Sabine River, but the Levingston spirit of initiative and many of its people continued in Texas Dry-Dock, Inc., which later became TDI-Halter, then FGO-Texas, and is now Signal International Texas.

Hull # Name Owner Type Navy Type Pennant # GT Price ($mm) Delivered Disposition
  Miss Edna   Tug         1935  
  Sue B.   Tug         1936  
  Especo   Tug         1938  
140 E. G. Diefenbach Electric Ferries Ferry     565   Feb-40 Later Fonseca 1971
145 Hamilton Electric Ferries Ferry     565   May-40 Later Nicoyano 1971
  Sea Otter II US Maritime Comm. Cargo Ship     1,575   26-Oct-41 Experimental vessel, hulked 1942
  Tuscarora US Navy Tug AT 77 530   13-Dec-41 Later YT 341, later ATA 245, scrapped 1976
  _____ Moran Moran Towing Tug     186   1942 To USN 1942 as Sacagawea (YT 241), to USMC 1942
212 Susan Moran Moran Towing Tug     186   1942 To USN 1942 as Uncas (YT 242), later YTB 242, later Pauline L. Moran 1947, Sewells Point, Fort McHenry 1980
    US Army Barge BCS 173 60   Feb-42  
    US Army Barge BCS 174 60   Feb-42  
    US Army Barge BCS 175 60   Feb-42  
    US Army Barge BCS 176 60   Feb-42  
    US Army Barge BCS 177 60   Feb-42  
    US Army Barge BCS 178 60   Feb-42  
    US Army Barge BCS 179 60   Feb-42  
    US Army Barge BCS 180 60   Feb-42  
    US Navy Lighter YO 80        
    US Navy Lighter YO 81        
    US Navy Lighter YO 82        
    US Navy Lighter YO 83        
    US Navy Lighter YO 84        
    US Navy Lighter YO 85        
    US Navy Lighter YO 86        
    US Navy Lighter YO 87        
    US Navy Lighter YO 88        
    US Navy Lighter