Donjon Shipbuilding & Repair LLC (DSR) is a United States shipyard located in Lake Erie port of Erie, Pennsylvania. The shipyard was founded by Dirk VanEnkevort in October 2005, when he took over the lease of the former Litton Industries property from the Erie-Western Pennsylvania Port Authority for a price of $500,000 per year. In 2009, it was purchased by J. Arnold Witte, Sr., the CEO/owner of Donjon Marine Co., Inc.
The shipyard is a major employer in Erie County, currently employing nearly 200 people.
During the first winter in business, the shipyard, which employed about 60 people full-time, completed the following projects:
- Conversion of the steamer Buckeye into the barge Lewis J. Kuber
- Repowering of the tug Joseph H. Thompson Jr.
- Miscellaneous work on the steamer Cason J. Callaway
- The five-year inspection, painting, and miscellaneous work on the barge Joseph H. Thompson
In the yard's second winter in business, it completed miscellaneous repairs on the steamer Philip R. Clarke, as well as beginning construction on a 245-foot (75 m) dump scow for Donjon Marine, christened the Witte 4003. In addition, they constructed six 165-foot (50 m) deck barges for Port Albany Ventures and Donjon Marine, the PAV 101, PAV 102, PAV 103, Sue B., Witte 1401, and Witte 1402. In 2008, the company began construction on a 740-foot-long (230 m) barge to be named Erie Trader and 135-foot-long (41 m) tug to be named Clyde VanEnkevort after the father of Dirk VanEnkevort. The tug and barge will mate together to create an 840-foot-long (260 m) cargo ship.
Erie Shipbuilding recently equipped their facility with metalworking robots to help with the shortage of skilled shipbuilders.
Famous quotes containing the word erie:
“Human beings will be happier—not when they cure cancer or get to Mars or eliminate racial prejudice or flush Lake Erie but when they find ways to inhabit primitive communities again. That’s my utopia.”
—Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. (b. 1922)