Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard

This shipyard located in Baltimore, Maryland, built 385 Liberty Ships from 1941 until 1945. At the time, Bethlehem Steel Corporation was operating a large shipyard next to its Sparrows Point steel making operation. In 1941, the Bethlehem Steel Shipyard was very busy with new construction and repair work for the US Navy so it built another yard in Fairfield for the purpose of building Liberty ships. This was the beginning of the Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard.

This shipyard built the SS Patrick Henry, the first of a class of cargo ships named Liberty Ships for the patriot's famous "Give me liberty or give me death" speech. Patrick Henry made her first voyage in January, 1942 and in March 1942 she was the first ship to transit the Suez Canal after the United States's entry into the war. Although she made survived the war, a run-in with a reef in 1946 led to the end of her active career.

The Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard had one of the best speed records for the construction of Liberty Ships, notwithstanding that fact that construction was sometimes interrupted to make way for the construction of other US Navy ships. In May 1942, the yard turned its construction facilities to building 30 LSTs for the Navy. By January, 1945, there were over 25,000 employees at the yard.

Asbestos Use at Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard

The Liberty Ships built at this shipyard were powered by steam reciprocating engines. These engines and the steam powdered auxiliary machinery all used asbestos insulation. There were thousands of pounds of asbestos insulating materials used on each of these ships. The shipyard workers at this yard were known for their speed of construction. There is little doubt that asbestos dust was flying everywhere as these ships were assembled. These shipyards workers are at risk of developing mesothelioma because of such heavy exposures to asbestos.