Detyens Shipyard Inc/Former Charleston Naval Shipyard (North Charleston, South Carolina)

 factory, place with historical importance, shipyard, production, United States Navy

1670 Dry Dock Ave #200
North Charleston, SC 29405
(843) 308-8000
www.detyens.com/

Established by the US Navy in 1901, the Charlestown Navy Yard began operations as a small scale ship repair facility with a single drydock and limited berth space. During the the period before, during and after WWI the yard remained a small and quiet operation, mainly seeing light repair work for Navy and civilian ships, but this began to change in the late 1920's and early 1930's as the US Navy began to expand the yards' size and capabilities.

Switching roles from a dedicated ship repair facility to a dual purpose ship production and repair facility, the Charleston Navy Yard began producing Destroyers, armed cargo ships, landing ships and transports for the US Navy in the years leading to and during WWII. While producing a relatively small number of ships compared to other wartime US Shipyards, the Charleston Navy Yard provided invaluable repair, upkeep and upgrade services to US & Allied Naval and merchant marine ships during the war.

Following WWII, the yard, which had been considerably expanded during the war, once again became a dedicated ship repair facility and acted as a receiving and storage point for surplus Navy ships entering Mothball fleets after the war. As the Navy began to consolidate its shipyards and shore commands in the postwar period, Charleston Navy Yard expanded in size yet again to accommodate a Mine Warfare School and Fleet Training Center as well as facilities to perform overhaul and repairs on both conventionally powered, and eventually nuclear powered submarines.

During the Korean and Vietnam War periods, the yard was kept busy with servicing the mothball fleet stored on its docks and with upgrading and repairing the modern US Navy ships in operation. During this time, the yard became fully certified to handle all nuclear powered ships operated by the US Navy, a certification it carries to this day, although these days it's potential nuclear powered customers are rarely allowed into Charleston Harbor.

The 1970's brought on many changes to the Charlestown Navy Yard, most notably with the closure of the Boston Navy Yard which increased Naval business for the Charleston Yard, however the economic hard times began to eat away at the yards two biggest customers, the US Navy and the US Merchant Marine. During the 1980's the yard's workload began to decline despite the '600 Ship Navy' plan implemented by the Regan administration and by 1990 the Navy had returned the yard to a limited refit and repair facility, much like its earlier days.

By the mid 1990's, the Navy had decided to center its East Coast Yard operations in Norfolk and began preparations to close the Charleston Navy Yard. The yard spaces and facilities were formally shut down in 1996, after 95 years of operation and were subsequently leased by local Charleston Shipbuilder Detyens Shipbuilding Inc, which continues to operate the yard today. The US Navy is still one of their largest customers at the former Charleston Navy Yard, using it to perform low and medium complexity repairs to its surface ships operating with the Atlantic Fleet. Detyens has also brought many new commercial customers to the yards expansive facilities and is presently a major employer in the Charleston area.

www.globalsecurity.org/military/facility/charleston_nsy...
www.destroyerhistory.org/destroyers/charlestonny.html

For a complete list of ships built here, please see:
www.shipbuildinghistory.com/history/shipyards/3public/c...