Benson Bros. Shipbuilding ~ Shipbuilding History

Benson Bros. Shipbuilding

Vancouver BC

Most recent update: July 16, 2021.

This famous shipyard was started in False Creek in 1919, by Charlie Benson, who had come to Vancouver from Australia in 1907. Charlie's sons, A. C. and R. H. Benson, took over in 1923 but in 1925, A. C. took control and it became the A. C. Benson Shipyard. In 1938 he moved it to a much larger facility in Coal Harbour, the former Menchions Shipyard: this was at 1705 West Georgia Street, roughly where the Bayview Drive condos are now - see it from the air on Google here. In 1942 they became Benson Bros. Shipbuilding again. In 1974, they bought the former Star Shipyard, in New Westminster, and consolidated there in 1979, after the Coal Harbour yard was acquired for redevelopment, but only lasted another five years, closing in 1984.

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	O/N	Name	Customer	Type	GT	Built	Notes
Built in the False Creek Shipyard
	154975	Grey Swan				1928	suspended
	156629	Rotona				1930	suspended
	156901	C.F. Co. 55				1930	suspended
	157231	Green Point				1932	suspended
	158283	G.P.L. No. 1				1932	suspended
	158293	Lucky VII				1933	closed
	158302	Tipella				1933	suspended
	158566	Dean C.				1934	suspended
	158927	Joe Drinkwater III				1936	closed
	822669	Olympic Rainbow		passenger	5	1936
	170395	Kwatna		tugboat	26	1937
	170419	Monique Marie No. 1				1937	closed
	170434	Maranatha II		tugboat	35	1937	later Why-Ack Brave
	170780	Tuya				1937	closed
Built in the Coal Harbour Shipyard
		San Thomas	Jimmy Detwellar	fish packer		1938
		Sea Foam No. 1	Harbour Towing	tugboat		1938
	170939	Sea Foam V				1938	closed
		Passing Cloud	Johnson Bros.	seiner		1939
		Tyee No. 1	Great West Towing	tugboat		1939
			Coast Guard	survey vessel		1939
	171780	Qualicum				1939	suspended
	171784	Q. B. No. 1	George O'Brian	tugboat		1939
	172322	Surf Point				1940	suspended
	172323	Pursuit II				1940	closed
		Combat	Nels Nielsen	fishing boat		1940
		Herring Point	Canadian Fish	fishing boat		1940
		Lake Queen		water taxi		1940
		Reef Point	Canadian Fish	fishing boat		1940
		Sea Spray	Barney Beldickson	tugboat		1940
		M-11	R.C.A.F.	torpedo retriever		1941
		M-12	R.C.A.F.	torpedo retriever		1941
		Q-68	R.C.N.	subchaser		1941
		Q-69	R.C.N.	subchaser		1941
			R.C.A.F.	crash boat		1941
			R.C.A.F.	crash boat		1941
			R.C.A.F.	crash boat		1941
			R.C.A.F.	crash boat		1941
			R.C.A.F.	refueling barge		1942
			R.C.A.F.	refueling barge		1942
			R.C.A.F.	refueling barge		1942
	173923	Redonda Bay				1942	closed
	176879	Earl Roy		fishing boat	14	1942	later Dementia
	177614	Allyssa Bay		passenger	47	1942	later High Seas Drifter
		Aleutian Queen		fishing boat		1942
		River Ace		tugboat		1942
	509495	Gannet		recreational	58	1942	sold to US owners
			R.C.N.	landing Barges		1943	Quantity unknown
	176230	Miss Linda				1943	suspended
	176281	Hughie Mac				1943	suspended
	177372	Forest Surveyor		recreational	54	1944	sold to US owners (US ON 1090372)
		Kalamalka (J-395)	R.C.N.	minesweeper	228	1944	sold 1947 as Kalamalka, sank 1968
		Lavallee (J-371)	R.C.N.	minesweeper	228	1944	sold 1947 as Lavallee, burned 1967
	177409	Pitt Lake Express	Pitt Lake	water taxi		1945
	179604	Taku Princess				1945	closed
		Arrogant	Gordon Gibbon	fishing boat		1945	lost 1945
		Pacific Sunrise	Nookta Packing	fishing boat	115	1945
		Rosalie III	Norman Ryall	fishing boat		1945
		Unimak	Johnson Bros.	seiner		1945
	177985	Pacific Rover		fishing boat	77	1946	later Iron Wind, a floating B & B in Richmond BC
	178065	River Chief				1946	closed
	193763	Shy Ann		fishing boat	12	1946
		Clayhurt	Dept. of Highways	tugboat		1946
		Red Fir 1	River Towing	tugboat		1946
		Red Fir 2	River Towing	tugboat		1946
		Red Fir 3	River Towing	tugboat		1946
	179058	Safari II				1947	closed
	179094	Chelsea Lake				1947	closed
		BC-Rover	Helge Skarpness	fishing boat		1947
		Great Northern III	Francis Millard	fishing boat		1947
		Venetta Prince	Adolph Prince	fishing boat		1947
	179592	Gracie L. II				1948	suspended
	189281	Quadra Isle				1948	closed
	190293	Silver Harvester				1948	suspended
	190599	Comalong				1948	closed
	190795	Strady V	Strady Bros.	tugboat	15	1948
	190821	Deep Sea		fishing boat	19	1948
	311219	Kaymar		recreational	21	1948	later Nesika II
		Grace	Jack Lippon	fishing boat		1948
		River Dee No. 1		tugboat		1948
		Sport No. 2	Julius Sorensen	fishing boat		1948
		Western Price	Harold Fem	fishing boat		1948
	192036	Symphony II				1949	suspended
	192043	Miss Helen	Nick Juring	fishing boat	63	1949
	192484	Gremlin II				1950	closed
	192882	Waldero	Walter Carr	fishing boat		1950
		Mount Cheam		water taxi		1950
	194231	Belina	Louis Benedet	fishing boat	138	1951
		Allegra		recreational	40	1951
	195241	Reliant	Vancouver tugboat	tugboat	57	1952
	195259	Albatross II				1952	closed
		Alaska Queen	Lar Solaway	fishing boat		1952
		River Dee No. 2		tugboat		1952
	197407	Cul-De-Sac		recreational	29	1954	later Seven Fathoms
	198912	Estric	Johnny Gron	fishing boat	27	1955
	198972	Tugger Yorke	F. M. Yorke	tugboat	14	1955	later Curtis K, Merry Sea II, Tugger G
	188330	Silver Viking	Melvin Muir	fishing boat		1956	later A.P. Knight, Arrow Post, 1991-03, I. F. Mariner, Ocean Viking (US-flag)
	188647	Vigorous II		tugboat	38	1956
		Paul Jack	Bill Vivian	recreational		1956
	189291	Renown	Jack Parker	fishing boat	104	1957
	189952	Black Tusk		tugboat	8	1957
		Gail Bernice	Hank McBride	fishing boat		1957
		Howe Sound IV		fishing boat		1957
	819426	Sidney	RCMP	patrol boat	30	1958	sold
		Brennines III	Bob Osborne	recreational		1959
		Brennines IV	Bob Osborne	recreational	33	1959
		Kaymar	Joe Perro	recreational		1959
		Papoose		recreational		1959
	311215	Tug-O-War				1960	closed
	312844	Pacific Harvester		fishing boat	146	1960
	313719	Breezin Thru	Jack McDonald	recreational	33	1960	later Sequoia Park, Breezin Thru
	313722	Anita G.				1960	closed
		14th of March		fishing boat		1960
		Dominator	Bill Logan	fishing boat		1960
	952311			recreational	25	1960
	313729	Dorlen	Len Swell	recreational	33	1961	later Escalante
	314010	Lady Diane	? Elworthy	recreational	33	1961	suspended 2008
		Nordic	Dick Alexander	recreational		1961
	314887	Wee Fir				1962	closed
	314935	Full Circle				1962	suspended 2008
	319374	Points North				1962	suspended 2008
	320183	Hutow Queen		tugboat	15	1963	later Jervis Queen
	320191	Milbanke Sound	Pattison Ent.	fishing boat	181	1963
	320211	Moya Rosa		recreational	20	1963	later Halmia, Pacific Hustler
	320258	Chieftain III	Pacific Cachalot	tugboat	65	1963
		Scotch Fir		tugboat		1963
	322343	Dauntless II	Pacific Towing	tugboat	66	1963
	322411	Western King	Roberts Fishing	fishing boat	178	1964
	323225	Canadian No. 1	Radil Bros. Fishing	fishing boat	190	1964
	320898	Silver Dolphin	Percy Pierce	fishing boat	190	1965	later Frederick K
	326478	F.D.J.V. No. 4	Foundation Dravo	tugboat	27	1965	later Forest Engineer
		F.D.J.V. No. 5	Foundation Dravo	tugboat	27	1965
	326511	Arctic Walrus		crane barge	35	1965	later C. F. W. Vagg, Northwest Rogue
	325595	Actress Pass				1965	closed
		Provider	Brajcich Bros.	fishing boat		1965	sold to Trinidad owners
		Quaddy Bay	Ivan Matthews	fishing boat		1965
	326520	Kaien Yarder				1966	suspended 2007
	327265	Eastern King	Roberts Fishing	fishing boat	6	1966
	327223	Sharlene K.	Seamaid Fishing	fishing boat	147	1967
	327905	Lady Noreen	Guptil & Sons	fishing boat	223	1967
	329396	W.W. XII		tugboat	2	1968	closed
	329447	Sky VIII		tugboat	2	1968	closed
	329461	Tahsis No. 32		Scaler boat		1967	suspended 2008
	345140	Tahsis No. 33		Scaler boat		1967
	330436	Tahsis No. 34		Scaler boat		1967	suspended 2008
		Martin G. Martin	Scotty Martin	fishing boat		1968	sank off the Magdalens 1968
	328939	Canada 100	KCR Fisheries	fishing boat	219	1968
	329469	W.W. XIII		tugboat	2	1968	closed
	329470	W.W. XIV		tugboat	2	1968	closed
	329483	Goodson XIV		tugboat	2	1968	closed
	329501	Sandy Ann	Sandy Ann Fishing	fishing boat	72	1968
	329515	Sandy L. XII		tugboat	2	1968	closed
	330327	M.K.		tugboat	2	1968
	330328	M.K. II		tugboat	2	1968	deleted
	330329	M.K. III		tugboat	2	1968	registered
	330330	M.K. IV		tugboat	2	1968	deleted
	330331	M.K. V		tugboat	2	1968	registered
	330332	M.K. VI		tugboat	2	1968	deleted
	330333	M.K. VII		tugboat	2	1968	deleted
	330334	M.K. VIII		tugboat	2	1968	registered
	330335	M.K. IX		tugboat	2	1968	deleted
	330336	M.K. X		tugboat	2	1968	deleted
	330357	M.K. XI		tugboat	2	1968	registered
	330381	Sky VIII		tugboat	2	1968	suspended 2008
	330382	LA XIV		tugboat	2	1968
	330383	Ogden Prince		tugboat	2	1968	suspended 2008
	330402	M.D. III		tugboat	2	1968	suspended 2003
	330429	M.D. IV		tugboat	2	1968	closed
	330435	SD II		tugboat	2	1968	suspended 2008
	330446	Quatam		tugboat	2	1968	closed
		Atlantic Gardner	Atlantic Sugar	Power Skiff	2	1968
		Atlantic Ginnis	Atlantic Sugar	Power Skiff	2	1968
	1081736		Harry Gamlen	recreational	87	1968	later Tango
	330447	B. 211	Weyerhaeuser Co.	tugboat	2	1969
	330467	Southgate		tugboat	2	1969	suspended 2008
	330780	Seymour Charger	Victoria Plywood	tugboat	2	1969
	330784	Sandy L. XIV		tugboat	2	1969	closed
	330785	N.W.D. 3		tugboat	2	1969	suspended 2008
	330790	B. 215	Weyerhaeuser Co.	tugboat	2	1969	closed
	330828	Sandy L. XV		tugboat	2	1969	closed
	330838	Wolco V		tugboat	2	1969	closed
	330848	B. 217	Weyerhaeuser Co.	tugboat	2	1969	suspended 2007
	330877	Tahsis No. 37		tugboat	2	1969	suspended 2008
	331172	B. 216	Weyerhaeuser Co.	tugboat	2	1969	suspended 2002
	331173	B. 219	Weyerhaeuser Co.	tugboat	2	1969
	331194	Peace Boomer No. 1		tugboat	2	1969	closed
	331211	Vic Ply		tugboat	2	1969	closed
	331233	T. 735		tugboat	2	1969	closed
	331235	M.K. XXI		tugboat	2	1969
	331236	MD 51		tugboat	2	1969	closed
	331240	Dallas Prince	S. & R. Sawmills	tugboat	2	1969
	331248	M.K. XXII		tugboat	2	1969
	331252	SD 76		tugboat	2	1969
	331301	Mayo No. 2		tugboat	2	1970	suspended 2008
	331821	1992-06					suspended 2008
	331825	Winder 4152					closed
	331836	Jose Narvaez		tugboat	150	1969
	331855	SD 88		tugboat	2	1969
	331856	SD 82		tugboat	2	1969
	331857	SD 78		tugboat	2	1969
	331871	W.W. XVI		tugboat	2	1970	suspended 2003
	331877	MD 89		tugboat	2	1970	closed
	331899	SD 83		tugboat	2	1970
	331909	MD 81		tugboat	2	1970	closed
	331920	SD 92		tugboat	2	1970
	331941	SD 93		tugboat	2	1970
	331942	MD 101		tugboat	2	1970	suspended 2003
	331958	MD 98		tugboat	2	1970	closed
	344563	Celkraft VII		tugboat	2	1970	suspended 2008
	344564	MD 105		tugboat	2	1970	suspended 2008
	344621	SD 103		tugboat	2	1970
	344703	SD 104		tugboat	2	1970
	344704	SD 106		tugboat	2	1970	suspended 2003
	344705	SD 107		tugboat	2	1970	suspended 2003
	344706	SD 108		tugboat	2	1970
	344714	Island Champion	Island Tug & barge	tugboat	150	1970	later Seaspan Champion
	344718	MD 113		tugboat	2	1970
	345090	Crown Forest 72-44		tugboat	2	1972	suspended
	345091	MD 114		tugboat	2	1970	closed
	345186	MD 117		tugboat	2	1970	suspended 2008
	345221	Nelbro 101	Pattison Ent.	fishing boat	4	1970	closed
	345222	Nelbro 102	Pattison Ent.	fishing boat	4	1970	closed
	345223	Nelbro 103	Pattison Ent.	fishing boat	4	1970
	345224	Nelbro 104	Pattison Ent.	fishing boat	4	1970
	345225	Nelbro 105	Pattison Ent.	fishing boat	4	1970
31	345522	Arctic Harvester	Karliner Fisheries	fishing boat	339	1972	sold to Venezuelan owners
	345692	Crown Forest 72-40		tugboat	2	1972	closed
	346304	Nelbro 108	Pattison Ent.	fishing boat	4	1971
	346305	Nelbro 107	Pattison Ent.	fishing boat	4	1971
	346306	Nelbro 106	Pattison Ent.	fishing boat	4	1971
		Abashag	Lee Donavent	recreational		1971
	346330	MD 122		tugboat	2	1971	suspended 2007
	346349	Nalos Dozer		tugboat	2	1971	closed
	534676	Swan		recreational	73	1971
	346644	Crown Forest 72-41		tugboat	2	1972
	346645	Crown Forest 72-42		tugboat	2	1972	later CZ-72-42
	815279	First Light II		recreational	28	1972
		Southward Ho	Longline Fishing	fishing boat	339	1972	sold to Philippines owners
	347892	Storm Queen	Egmont Towing	tugboat	93	1973	later Island Brave, North Arm Victor
	347992	F. & F. XVIII		tugboat	2	1973
	348010	F. & F. XIX		tugboat	2	1973	later Sanjay Prince
	348380	W.C.				1973	closed
	348394	W.W. XXXI		tugboat	2	1973
	348420	Nelbro 158	Pattison Ent.	fishing boat		1974	closed
	348511	Caledonian	Ingram Fishing	fishing boat	260	1974	sank 2015
	369103	Nemesis	Vigo Mark	fishing boat	237	1974
	370331	Stormforce	Egmont Towing	tugboat	136	1974
	393375	Nelbro 139	Pattison Ent.	fishing boat		1974	suspended 2008
	369689	Swiftsure II	Canadian F.P.	tugboat	192	1975	later Pacific Ranger II
Built in the New Westminster Shipyard
		Jandix	Dept. of Enviro.	research		1976
40	384000	Neekis	Medanic Fisheries	fishing boat	131	1978
41	800025	Simstar	Hank McBride	fishing boat	246	1981	later Gail Bernice, Viking Storm
	803655	Castlefinn II		recreational	46	1983	later Magdalene
	817596	Adriane's Rainbow					closed
Small Boats
	C02107BC						suspended
	C10311BC			work boat	5
	C11501BC			fishing boat	7
	C15243BC						suspended
	C19668BC			work boat	2