Avondale Marine Ways, Inc. Main and Harvey Shipyards

Asbestos Jobsite – New Orleans, LA

Founded in 1938, Avondale Marine Ways, Inc. (“Avondale”) was a significant shipbuilding company located along the Mississippi River near New Orleans.  Employing thousands of workers in the area, the Avondale Shipyards were eventually  acquired by Litton Industries and, later, by Northrop Grumman Corporation.  The shipyards were closed in 2014.

Address or general location

Bridge City (20 miles upriver of New Orleans, LA)

Detail

From the 1930s until 2014, the Avondale Shipyards employed thousands of workers.  Beginning with only 200 workers in 1941, the shipyards grew and eventually employed as many as 26,000 employees.  Avondale’s Main and Harvey Shipyards were located in Bridge City, approximately 20 miles upriver from New Orleans.  The Main Shipyard manufactured ships, barges, tugs and large equipment, and the Harvey Shipyard (a/k/a the “Quick Repair Yard”) repaired ships as small as barges to large cargo ships.  Like other shipyards along the Mississippi, Avondale assisted the U.S. Navy in the construction of naval vessels before and during WWII.  In 2014, the shipyards were closed.