NORSHIPCO and Asbestos

NORSHIPCO, located in Port of Hampton Roads, Virginia, is the largest, privately owned shipyard that services non-nuclear military ships. Since it was established in 1915, NORSHIPCO has performed a variety of repairs and overhauls on both military and commercial ships alike.

As of 1998, NORSHIPCO has been owned by the United States Marine Repair, Inc., which itself is owned by a Washington, D.C.-based investment firm known as The Carlyle Group. Since this acquisition, NORSHIPCO has steadily grown in size, adding skilled workers and versatile, up-to-date facilities to its already capable and thriving shipyard.

NORSHIPCO Size and Capabilities

NORSHIPCO is housed on 109 acres of land on the south end of the Elizabeth River. On this property, NORSHIPCO includes:

• a 1,000-foot channel (with a controlled depth of 45 feet)
• 4 cranes, the largest of which weighs 95 tons
• 4 piers, ranging from 486' to nearly 1,300' in length
• the "Old Dominion," a large drydock that is nearly 570 feet long
• the "Titan," a massive floating drydock that is over 950 feet long

While NORSHIPCO regularly modernizes and repairs commercial watercraft, including cruise liners owned by the Royal Caribbean and Princess Cruise Lines, it primarily focuses on repairing vessels used by the United States Marine Corps.

With nearly a century of modernizing and repairing military ships, NORSHIPCO has worked on ships used in:

• World War I
• World War II
• the Korean War
• the Vietnam War

Asbestos Exposure at NORSHIPCO

The materials used to build ships, as well as the equipment used to repair them, often contain asbestos. While intact asbestos is not toxic, as soon as asbestos is disturbed and its fibers are airborne, they can be easily inhaled and, overtime, cause shipyard workers (or anyone in the area) to develop serious, incurable health problems.

NORSHIPCO workers can endure hazardous asbestos exposure as they work with:

• boilers and heat exchangers
• cements, caulking and sealants
• insulation
• pipes, shingles and tiles
• small machines and appliances
• tars and sprays

Prolonged asbestos exposure will overtime cause many shipyard workers to develop:

• asbestosis
• lung or throat cancer
• mesothelioma
• oral or esophageal cancer

Although asbestos safety regulations are in place to protect shipyard workers from such asbestos diseases, many people will still develop these devastating conditions because:

• Asbestos exposure occurred prior to the enactment of these regulations (This is particularly true for lifelong shipyard workers nearing retirement or recently retired).
• Shipyards may not fully abide by asbestos regulations.
• The nature of ship repair work puts workers in cramped, poorly ventilated environments, which can maximize asbestos exposure.

If you are a current or former employee of NORSHIPCO and you have developed an asbestos-related illness, contact us today and we’ll help you explore your options.