Shipyard to close facilities in Phila.

0 Comments | Philadelphia Inquirer, The, May, 2006 | by Henry J. Holcomb

Metro Machine Corp., a Norfolk, Va., company that came here a dozen years ago with dreams of building a radically new type of tanker ship, is shutting down its Philadelphia operations.

The tankers it hoped to build offered innovations to protect the environment, but no one was willing to risk buying the first ship of an unproven design.

To sustain its operation here while seeking ship orders, Metro did work including overhauls and scrapping ships.

The city is already seeking a ship-repair company to lease the two dry docks at the old Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, at the foot of Broad Street, that Metro has been using.

"We have a lot of investment in those dry docks," said John Grady, senior vice president of the Philadelphia Industrial Development...