BAE bringing shipbuilding back to yard

MOBILE, Ala. - New ship construction will be returning to the site of the former Alabama Dry Dock and Shipbuilding Co., officials with BAE Systems Southeast Shipyards said Friday. The company said it will partner with Netherlands-based IHC Merwede to build offshore oil vessels at BAE's yards in Jacksonville, Fla., and Mobile. BAE has about 800 workers at its Mobile yard now, but could grow by 400 in the coming years because of the agreement. ADDSCO, on Pinto Island, opened in 1916 and closed in 1988. It was bought by Atlantic Marine in 1992, and sold to BAE last year. (Source: Mobile Press-Register, 07/15/11)