Conrad Industries

Conrad Industries, a Gulf Coast shipbuilder with four shipyards in Louisiana and Texas, was founded in 1948. Today, it's a very large shipbuilding concern, including 230,000 square feet of covered workspace and six drydock facilities. The Conrad shipyards service both government and private commercial interests, making vessels such as oil tankers, tugboats, barges, and drilling vessels, and repairing and converting several types of ships.

Gulf of Mexico Shipyards

J. Parker Conrad established his shipyard in Morgan City, Louisiana. In 1997, the operations were enlarged by the purchase of another company, Orange Shipbuilding, in Texas. The Conrad shipyards all have direct access to the Gulf of Mexico.

Asbestos at Shipyards

Before the federal and state governments started restricting the uses of asbestos in the 1980s, this mineral was used extensively in the construction of nearly every type of sea-going vessel. The risk of fire aboard ships has always been a grave concern, and when the technology to manipulate asbestos became available, hundreds of products containing asbestos were incorporated into the designs of many vessels.

Asbestos Is a Carcinogen

Asbestos has excellent insulating and fireproofing properties. It seemed like an ideal material because it could be used in a variety of forms, such as sheets, textiles, and panels. However, asbestos was eventually proven to be a human carcinogen. When asbestos fibers enter the human body, particularly by inhalation, they can become permanently lodged in body tissues, disrupting the tissues' normal functioning.

Asbestos-caused cases of lung cancer, mesothelioma, and asbestosis are shockingly common among shipyard workers. The rates of these diseases are significantly higher among shipyard workers than they are among the general population.

If You Worked at Conrad Shipyards

A diagnosis of mesothelioma or another asbestos-related disease can be life-threatening. If you want to know more about these diseases and about your legal rights, please contact us online today.