The Atlantic Basin Iron Works was an ironworks that operated in Brooklyn, New York, in the early to mid-20th century. It built U.S. Navy warships during World War I and II.
Founded before 1910,[1] the yard had its headquarters at 18-20 Summit Street.[2] By 1920, the yard was known for its construction and repair of oil-fired boilers, diesel engines, and refrigeration units.[2]
During World War II, the company specialized in ship conversion and repair, and like most US shipyards at the time, it was heavily contracted for work by the U.S. Army, U.S. Navy and Maritime Commission.
In 1941-42, the company converted a 9,300-ton passenger/cargo ship into a light aircraft carrier for the British Royal Navy,[3]
The company's owner, Bernard A. Moran, was strongly anti-union and had defied attempts by the CIO's Marine and Shipbuilding Workers Union to secure a contract with the company since November 1938. His approach became problematic during the war after the Roosevelt administration's War Labor Board ordered Moran under its broad war powers to sign a union security (maintenance-of-membership) contract. In spite of warnings that he might lose all his government contracts or have his company seized, Moran remained intransigent, and after three months of legal wrangling, the government made good on its threat and seized the company in September 1943, taking direct control of its management.
Today, the site is used by the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal.