Bender Shipbuilding is the second of the large drydock and shipbuilding concerns that were among the major employers in the city of Mobile, Alabama during World War II. Bender is a privately held corporation that was established in 1928. The uniqueness of the shipyard is its enormous deep water frontage on the Gulf of Mexico. Prior to 1980, it was known as Bender Welding and Machine Company. Bender Shipbuilding is known for drydock facilities, repair and conversion, new vessel building, and surplus marine equipment sales.

Bender is one of only a handful of full-fledged shipbuilding facilities left in the United States. Its location on the Gulf of Mexico has made it the choice of thousands of boat owners over the years. Bender facility is known for its dedicated workforce, which is operational nearly 24 hours daily. The shipyard workers are skilled in their ability to service and repair various ships efficiently and accurately. These vessels include tugboats, passenger vessels, riverboats, shrimp boats, and push boats.

Because of the age of the facility and the type of work that is being done, Bender Shipbuilding is one of the facilities that is being warned about the presence of asbestos and the diseases known as mesothelioma and other lung cancers. Asbestos fibers were used in parts of ships such as steam pipes, boiler rooms, and piping systems. Employees were prone to get loose fibers into their lungs, whether they worked around the renovation of old worn out equipment or whether they installed new equipment as needed. It is estimated that just as many World War II workers died from exposure to asbestos as those killed in battle.

Bender built the famous Liberty ships during the years of World War II at an amazing rate. During the height of production, an entire ship was built every 43 days. Thousands of employees were included in the effort to replace the devastated British shipping fleet even, before the United States entered the war.

Thousands of men and women moved to Mobile in order to take advantage of the work opportunities. Many of them have become sick with mesothelioma due to the excessive amounts asbestos use.

Mesothelioma News

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