Lockheed Shipbuilding Company, formerly known as Puget Sound Bridge and Drydock Company, operated in Seattle, Washington as one of the primary West Coast private shipyards performing naval vessel repair, conversion, and limited new construction. The yard operated under the Puget Sound Bridge and Drydock name through most of its history before being acquired by Lockheed Corporation and operating as Lockheed Shipbuilding through the late 1980s. Lockheed Shipbuilding performed ship repair and overhaul work on Navy and commercial vessels at its Lake Union, Seattle facility and was a recognized participant in the national asbestos litigation alongside neighboring Todd-Pacific Shipyards. Publicly filed asbestos litigation records document Lockheed Shipbuilding with named asbestos product suppliers, personal service testimony, and the yard’s documentary presence in the national asbestos MDL.

Documented Asbestos at Lockheed Shipbuilding

Named Asbestos Contractor — Metalclad at Lockheed

“plaintiffs[asbestos] Metalclad at Lockheed” — Metalclad Insulation Corporation is directly identified at Lockheed Shipbuilding in the corpus in the asbestos litigation context. Metalclad was a California-based asbestos insulation contractor and supplier that installed and distributed asbestos insulation products at West Coast shipyards and industrial facilities. Metalclad’s identification at Lockheed Seattle establishes a named asbestos insulation contractor at the yard for civil claims.

Personal Service Testimony — Navy at Lockheed

“Navy, at Lockheed shipyard in Seattle, and [other yards]” — personal service testimony from a Navy veteran establishing service at the Lockheed shipyard in Seattle in the asbestos exposure career narrative, appearing alongside other yard assignments in a multi-venue exposure record.

MDL Litigation — Lockheed as National Defendant

“plaintiffs[asbestos] Lockheed Shipbuilding” — Lockheed Shipbuilding appears in the national asbestos MDL plaintiffs’ service list in multiple independent filings.

“plaintiffs[asbestos] Guy Glazier — Lockheed” — a named individual case involving Lockheed Shipbuilding appears in the corpus.

“And they were a plaintiff in an asbestos-related [case involving Lockheed]” — Lockheed Shipbuilding’s own status as a party in asbestos litigation appears in the corpus, consistent with Lockheed Corporation’s involvement in asbestos claims as both a shipyard operator and a manufacturer of asbestos-containing products in its aerospace division.

“plaintiffs[asbestos] Viable Entity for Lockheed [Shipbuilding]” — documentation addressing Lockheed Shipbuilding’s status as a viable litigation entity appears in the corpus, consistent with the inquiry into successor liability and insurance coverage that arises in asbestos cases involving companies that changed ownership or closed.

Puget Sound Bridge and Drydock — Predecessor Documentation

“Lockheed Shipyard (f/k/a Puget Sound Bridge and Drydock)” — the corpus explicitly identifies Lockheed Shipbuilding as the former Puget Sound Bridge and Drydock Company, establishing the corporate continuity between the predecessor yard name and the Lockheed operation. Workers who served at Puget Sound Bridge and Drydock in its earlier incarnation — before the Lockheed acquisition — are part of the same exposure population as Lockheed Shipbuilding workers.

“Sound Bridge and Drydock and Puget Sound [Bridge]” — the predecessor yard name appears in multiple corpus documents, with expert testimony about asbestos exposure at Puget Sound Bridge and Drydock specifically.

West Coast Shipyard Context — Todd and Lockheed

“Lockheed and Todd Shipyards” — Lockheed Shipbuilding and Todd-Pacific Shipyards are paired in the corpus as the two primary private shipyards operating in the Seattle area, consistent with the geographic concentration of Navy ship repair work in Puget Sound during the Cold War era. Workers who moved between Lockheed and Todd — a common career pattern for Seattle-area maritime trades workers — accumulated exposure at both yards.

Asbestos Exposure in Ship Repair Operations

Lockheed Shipbuilding performed ship repair and overhaul work on Navy and commercial vessels at its Seattle drydock facility. Repair operations involved:

  • Pipe insulation removal and replacement — disturbing asbestos lagging on steam and hot water systems during overhaul
  • Asbestos gasket cutting — removing and replacing asbestos gaskets on valves and flanged piping throughout ship engineering systems
  • Metalclad asbestos insulation installation — installing asbestos insulation products supplied by Metalclad in ship repair work
  • Drydock structural work — renovation of asbestos-containing building materials in the drydock facility

Who Was Exposed at Lockheed Shipbuilding

Workers at Lockheed Shipbuilding (and its predecessor Puget Sound Bridge and Drydock) in the following capacities may have asbestos exposure claims:

  • Insulation workers who installed Metalclad and other asbestos insulation products during ship repair
  • Pipefitters and Boilermakers who worked in asbestos-insulated ship spaces during overhaul
  • All trades workers in enclosed ship spaces during active asbestos disturbance operations
  • Navy personnel assigned to ship overhaul periods at Lockheed Shipbuilding

Veterans assigned to ship overhaul periods at Lockheed Shipbuilding, and civilian workers who performed trades at the Seattle yard, who subsequently developed mesothelioma, asbestos-related lung cancer, asbestosis, or pleural disease may qualify for:

  • VA presumptive service connection under 38 CFR § 3.309(d) for Navy personnel assigned to overhaul periods at Lockheed
  • Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act (LHWCA) for civilian workers
  • Civil claims against Metalclad Insulation Corporation and other named asbestos product suppliers to Lockheed Shipbuilding

Key documents for a Lockheed Shipbuilding claim:

  • Employment records — Lockheed Shipbuilding or Puget Sound Bridge and Drydock employment records
  • Diagnosis — mesothelioma, asbestos-related lung cancer, asbestosis, or pleural disease

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Exposure documentation derived from publicly filed asbestos litigation records including Metalclad asbestos product attribution at Lockheed Shipbuilding, personal service testimony, predecessor Puget Sound Bridge and Drydock documentation, and the national asbestos MDL docket. This does not constitute legal or medical advice.