Bay Shipbuilding Company (BSC)

Bay Shipbuilding, Sturgeon Bay WI

 

(formerly Sturgeon Bay Shipbuilding & Dry Dock [formerly Rieboldt, Wolter & Co., Universal Shipbuilding Co. and Sturgeon Bay Dry Dock Co.] and Christy Corp. [formerly Leathem D. Smith Towing & Wrecking Co., Leathem D. Smith Dock Co. and Leathem D. Smith Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co.])

 

Bay Shipbuilding was created in 1967, when Manitowoc Corporation closed its yard in Manitowoc and acquired two adjacent shipyards in Sturgeon Bay WI - Sturgeon Bay Shipbuilding and Christy Corp.  Sturgeon Bay Shipbuilding dates from the late 19th century, passing through several owners and corporate identities.  Christy Corp. was previously Leathem D. Smith Shipbuilding, which was started at the outbreak of World War One and became a major figure in the Great Lakes maritime industry: after Leathem Smith's death in 1948, the yard was sold to its management and renamed Christy Corp. 

The yard is now the last active builder of large ships on the U.S. Great Lakes, although it hasn't actually built a large ship, as opposed to a large barge, since the 1980s.  In 2008, Manitowoc Corp.  sold its Marine Group, which also includes Marinette Marine and Cleveland Ship Repair, to Fincantieri and it is now called Fincantieri Marine Group.  Visit the shipyard at www.bayshipbuildingcompany.com and see it from the air on Google here.