The Jakobson Shipyard, Inc. was a shipyard involved in manufacture of

tugs A tugboat or tug is a marine vessel that manoeuvres other vessels by pushing or pulling them, with direct contact or a tow line. These boats typically tug ships in circumstances where they cannot or should not move under their own power, such ...

ferries A ferry is a boat or ship that transports passengers, and occasionally vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A small passenger ferry with multiple stops, like those in Venice, Italy, is sometimes referred to as a water taxi or water bus. ...

submarines A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability.) The term "submarine" is also sometimes used historically or info ...

minesweepers A minesweeper is a small warship designed to remove or detonate naval mines. Using various mechanisms intended to counter the threat posed by naval mines, minesweepers keep waterways clear for safe shipping. History The earliest known usage of ...

yachts A yacht () is a sail- or marine propulsion, motor-propelled watercraft made for pleasure, cruising, or racing. There is no standard definition, though the term generally applies to vessels with a cabin intended for overnight use. To be termed a ...

fireboats A fireboat or fire-float is a specialized watercraft with pumps and nozzles designed for fighting shoreline and shipboard fires. The first fireboats, dating to the late 18th century, were tugboats, retrofitted with firefighting equipme ...

and other craft, based in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

, from 1926 to 1938, and

Oyster Bay, New York The Town of Oyster Bay is the easternmost of the three Administrative divisions of New York#Town, towns that make up Nassau County, New York, Nassau County, New York (state), New York, United States. Part of the New York metropolitan area, it is ...

, from 1938 to 1984.

History

''Note: Ship names utilized are the Original Names with text in italics. The numbers in parentheses following the Original Name is the Hull Number.'' The Jakobson Shipyard, Inc. traces its origins to founder Daniel Jakobson, who established the Jakobson & Peterson shipyard in

, in 1895. Jakobson was a native of

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

who immigrated to the United States in 1877. His son, Irving Jakobson, succeeded him as President in 1925. The elder Jakobson died November 28, 1931, at his residence on 370 Senator Street in Brooklyn. The firm operated in Brooklyn until around 1938 when it was decided to move to

. As many as 700 people worked at Jakobson's during the height of production around

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Four diesel-electric tugboats were built and launched for the Lehigh Valley Railroad from 1948 and 1950. These include the ''Wilkes-Barre'' (327), ''Hazelton'' (328), ''Cornell'' (329), and ''Lehigh'' (330). Of these, the tugboat Cornell is the last in service. These diesel tugs were meant to replace steam driven tugs used by the railroad in New York Harbor for towing car floats and barges. Among the benefits that came from diesel were eliminating time lost for fueling. Jakobson's produced and launched three fireboats for the City of

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

in 1960. These were the '' Mayor J. Harold Grady'' (397), '' P.W. Wilkinson'' (398), and '' August Emrich'' (399). The State of New York provided $5 million to buy the

shipyard A shipyard, also called a dockyard or boatyard, is a place where ships are shipbuilding, built and repaired. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Compared to shipyards, which are sometimes m ...

in 1997, from funds in the state's 1972 Environmental Quality Bond Act. The money had been previously designated for a waste incinerator on Long Island that had never been built. Gov. George E. Pataki speaking at that time said, "This cooperative purchase will recapture an important part of Oyster Bay's waterfront and the area's unique maritime character." Officers and key staff around the time Jakobson's stopped operation were Mr. George J. Hossfeld, President; Mr. John Hossfeld, Shipyard Manager; Mr. William R. Gordon, Vice President; and Ms. Robin Ritter, Office Manager. The publication ''Worldwide ship and boat repair facilities'' published around the time of closing described the firm as follows:

Operates vessel repair, upgrades, yacht and small boat repowering and full service boat marina facility. With 2 marine railways to 235’ and 1,500 LT, 2,000 feet of total berthing, buildingways, and shops.

Register of Ships Produced

Data in these tables is from Tim Colton's web site.

Built in Brooklyn (by Jakobson & Petersen)

Built in Oyster Bay (by Jakobson Shipyard)

References

External links