Page 38 - Port of Baltimore Magazine January/February 2016

PORT BUSINESS
Smith Shipyard
Wears Many Hats at
the Port of Baltimore
COMPANY HAS BEEN A CONSTANT PRESENCE SINCE 1905
Smith Shipyard has a long-standing presence at the Port of Baltimore. In the 1940s, the company was able to convert its schooners to motor-power-generated vessels, such as this one in the foreground undergoing repairs.
BY KATHY BERGREN SMITH
Who will supply the floating stage for a rock concert at the Inner Harbor? Why, the 112-year-old Smith Shipyard, of course. Where can you find a rental crane with a 150-ton lift capacity for a bridge maintenance project? Call Smith Shipyard. How about an emergency repair job on a harbor tugboat or barge? Yes, again,
it is Smith Shipyard that provides a diverse palette of services to the Port of Baltimore.
The team at Smith Shipyard is led by J. Gerard (Jerry) Smith, along with his son Kevin and nephew Michael.
Their skills complement one another to keep the yard running smoothly. The yard offers conversions and repairs, barge rentals, crane rentals, towing services, sandblasting, painting,
etc. — a wide range of services that has evolved over more than a century, adapting to the changing needs of the Port. What began as a family boatyard in 1905 became a shipyard in 1923 when company founder Augustus Smith and his son, Willis, built one
of the first electric marine railways in Baltimore. This allowed the company to offer repairs to the commercial sailing schooners in Baltimore.
The schooners that plied the Chesapeake Bay carried regional
cargos like fertilizer from the Port
to the farms of the Eastern Shore, returning laden with the farms’ produce. By the early 1940s, engine technology had developed and Smith began to convert the sailing ships to diesel. Before the days of trucks, these “freight boats” crowded the wharves in the Inner Harbor.
Today’s facility is a far cry from
[36] The Port of Baltimore ■ January/February 2017
SMITH SHIPYARD ARCHIVE