March/April 2014
■
ThePort of Baltimore
[
37
]
T
wenty-nine-year-old Charles
Frederick Lynch, III goes
by “Chaz” in the shipyard
at The General Ship Repair
Corporation, where he is a
foreman. Chaz andhis24-year-oldbrother
Ryan, whoalsoworksat the yardbetween
voyages as amerchantmariner, represent
the fourth generation of the Lynch family
running the 90-year-old shipyard.
Chaz joined the family business six
yearsagoafter a tour of dutywith theU.S.
Coast Guard. And like his brother, who
studied Marine Engineering at the U.S.
Merchant Marine Academy, he is com-
mitted to sustaining the last full-service
shipyard in the Port of Baltimore. As Chaz
puts it, “I amnot going anywhere.”
Chaz and Ryan’s father, Derick, the
current President of General Ship Repair,
is not surprised: “My brothers Cary and
Michael andmyself never reallyconsidered
working anywhere else, this is where we
grewup.”Derick rememberscatchingabus
to the shipyard the summer hewas 10 and
helping the secretary.
While looking toward the future, the
three Lynchbrothershavemade significant
infrastructure improvements at General
Ship Repair’s Key Highway location. “As
we prepare to pass the baton to the next
generation, we realize we have a larger
responsibility, not just to our family and
employeesbut toour community tocreate
a safe and environmentally sustainable
shipyard,” Derick said.
Anew325-foot bulkhead, built of steel
sheet piles, captures runoff from the imper-
vious surfaceson theproperty. Inaddition,
a grant from the Small Shipyard Grant
Programof theMaritimeAdministrationhas
assistedGeneral Ship Repair in building a
newdrydock for theyard. Thisstate-of-the-
art dock can capture 100 percent of the
wastewater createdbywater blastingand
paintingprojects.
“We are very proud that we were able
toprovidegood, blue-collar jobs andbuild
thedrydock right here inour yardandhave
TheGeneral ShipRepair Corporation
ATAGLANCE
•
Drydock andwet-berth services off of KeyHighway
•
Familyownedandoperated since1924
•
Providingaround-the-clock serviceanywhere in thePort,withmobileand
floating equipment
•
BaltimoreMetalWorks, an operatingdivisionof TheGeneral ShipRepair
Corporation, offersmetal fabricationandmachine shopandpipe shopwork
For a lookat TheGeneral ShipRepairCorporationmore thanahalf-century
ago, see thePortViewonpage44.
Anultra-high-pressurewater blaster is used at the
General ShipRepair drydock to removepaint in amore
environmentally friendlymanner.
Left: Supervisors LarryBal and
EdShaffer on thedrydock.
General ShipRepair
EvenMore
Environmentally
Sustainablewith
NewDrydock
