Northwest Steel

File:USS West Shore, cropped.jpg

, one of the "West" boats built at Northwest Steel

Northwest Steel was a structural steel fabricator and shipbuilding company in Portland, Oregon. During World War I the yard built cargo ships for the United States Shipping Board (USSB). Some 37 of the 46 ships ship built at Northwest Steel were the West boats, a series of Template:GRT steel-hulled cargo ships built for the USSB on the West Coast of the United States as part of the World War I war effort.Template:Sfn

The Northwest Steel Company was incorporated in August 1903.

In July 1913, NW Steel began construction of a new plant, to be complete February 1914, after its present site was purchased by the public dock commission. Location of the new plant is a newly built 300x350 feet dock. Planned are a 60x800-foot main shop, 50x100-foot blacksmith shop, 50x100-foot machine shop and a 50x100-foot template shop.

Work on shipyard facilities began with dredging on April 1, 1916. everything built was as extensions of the existing company plant. The mold loft was begun the first week of May, the ways were constructed starting in late May. The first keel was hurried and laid down on July 9, 1916 with some improvisation in the still not fully finished yard. Eventually there was also a large rivet and bolt shop erected to handle the demand, including for boat spikes of the numerous wooden hull constructors in the vicinity, production for the boat spikes alone amounting to 14 tons a day in 1918. See also: 1921 Industrial Map of Portland. The shipyard was sandwiched between the river to the east, the yard of the Columbia River Shipbuilding Company to the south, railroad tracks to the west and the Portland Lumber Company mill to the north. Northwest Steel was the largest of the 4 steel shipyards in the Portland / Vancouver region.

In May 1918, contracts were awarded for a $17,500 mold loft to be built at the company's site at the foot of Sheridan Street. In July 1918, NW Steel planned to build 4 additional slipways at its plant site.

In February 1919 it was announced that Northwest Steel had retired from the structural steel field. The Northwest Bridge & Iron Co., headed by W.H. Cullers, was taking over this end of the business and was looking for a new plant site. In January 1920, Bridge & Iron took over the rest of Northwest Steel's business.

It was headed by Joseph R. Bowles, who was indicted for bribing a government official in about 1918 and then convicted of contempt of court.Template:Sfn He was later described as a "greedy, domineering and difficult person, with no sense of civic responsibility."Template:Sfn

The first ship built at Northwest Steel was the cargo ship , originally launched on March 31, 1917, as the Cunard Line ship Vesterlide,Template:Sfn a British-flagged ship sunk by German submarine U-55 in January 1918.Template:Sfn The final ship built was the Template:GRT tanker Swiftwind, completed in June 1921.Template:Sfn

31 Men Tackle City Wood Yards

Thirty-one men reported this morning for work in the municipal woodyard, located in the sheds of the old Northwestern Steel Company, foot of Sheridan Street. The yard was opened upon recommendation of the mayor's committee on unemployment to allow men who need board and lodging an opportunity to earn it without loss of self respect by begging.

Oregon Daily Journal, December 20, 1921

Ships

Names in parentheses are original names, changed before the ship was launched, or in the case of War Baron changed shortly after launch. All requisitioned ships were cargo ships of 8,800dwt.

Yard#	Owner	Name	EngineTemplate:Efn	LaunchedTemplate:Efn
1	Shipping Controller	Vesterlide ()		31 Mar 17
2	Shipping ControllerTemplate:Efn	(Vesterlen)		2 Aug 17
Requisitioned by the USSB
Yard#	Orig. Owner	Name	Engine	Launched
3		(Hallgrim)	GE 508nhp	4 Nov 17
4	Shipping Controller	(War Archer)	GE 508nhp	13 Jan 18
5		(Landaas)	GE 508nhp	14 Sep 17
6	Shipping Controller	(War Ally)	GE 508nhp	5 Dec 17
7		(War Pearl)	GE	8 Feb 18
8		(Umpqua)	DeLaval 579nhp	6 Mar 18
9	French Line	(Joffre)	GE	19 Mar 18
10		(Marne)	GE 508nhp	20 Apr 18
11		(Verdun)	GE	6 May 18
12		(Pershing)	GE	27 May 18
13		(Aisne)	DeLaval 594nhp	6 Jul 18
14		(Argonne)	DeLaval	23 Jul 18
15		(Somme)	DeLaval	12 Aug 18
16		(Meuse)	DeLaval	26 Aug 18
USSB contract
Yard#	USSB#	Name	Engine	Launched
17	1073Template:Efn		GE	7 Oct 18
18	1074			26 Oct 18
19	1075			9 Nov 18
20	1076			27 Nov 18
21	1077			21 Dec 18
22	1078			14 Jan 19
23	1079			28 Jan 19
24	1080			12 Feb 19
25	1414Template:Efn			28 Feb 19
26	1415			17 Mar 19
27	1416			28 Mar 19
28	1417	/ Deer Lodge		11 Apr 19
29	1418	/ Tripp		23 Apr 19
30	1419			3 May 19
31	1420			21 May 19
32	1421			20 Jun 19
33	2368Template:Efn		Vulcan	6 Aug 19
34	2369		Midwest	18 Aug 19
35	2370			6 Sep 19
36	2371		Fletcher	30 Sep 19
37	2372	/ J.R. Gordon	HOR2
38	2373	/ Centaurus		17 Nov 19
39	2374	/ Clauseus
n/a	2375	West Croswicks	cancelled
	2376	West Paramas
	2377	West Bomoken
by Northwest Bridge & Iron
40	2865Template:Efn		HOR	15 Dec 20
41	2866			18 Jan 21
42	2867			5 Feb 21
43	2868			12 Mar 21
44	2869			9 Apr 21
45	2870
46	2871

Buildings

The Northwest Steel Co. was contracted to furnish structural steel for at least these buildings:

Contract	Building	Tonnage	Ref
Nov 1910	Corbett Building	1,000
May 1912	Sandy River Bridge	119
Oct 1912	a building in Portland for the Pacific Telephone & Telegraph Co. (see)	1,203
Jan 1913	Eagle Creek Bridge, Portland	300
Aug 1913	public dock No. 1	299
May 1914	Meier & Frank Building, Portland	3,500
July 1914	highway bridges at Astoria	101
May 1915	Coliseum building, Seattle	404
June 1915	First National Bank Building, Portland	340
May 1916	two 400-foot wireless towers for the U.S. Government in Keyport	233