14 Public Shipyards


Since the nation's earliest days, the U.S. Navy has built and operated its own shipyards.  There were 12 in total, four of which are still active.  The Navy terminated or cancelled almost all new ship construction contracts at the end of WWII and only a few new ships were built in the Naval Shipyards thereafter.  All new ship construction in the Naval Shipyards formally ended in 1972, after publication of a report demonstrating that ships built in Naval Shipyards cost, on average, about 30% more than ships built by private-sector shipbuilders.

In addition to the 12 Naval Ship Yards, there is one Naval Station with a construction record; the U.S. Coast Guard maintains its own yard in Baltimore MD; and the Corps of Engineers has built some boats in its own facilities, although this last group requires more research.

The 14 public shipyards included here are: