[1] During World War II, there was a high demand for ships thus, McCloskey & Company opened a shipyard at Hookers Point in Tampa, Florida.
The city leased out the shipyard to Tampa Ship Repair & Dry Dock Company.
In 1972 the yard was sold to American Ship Building Company as Tampa Shipyards.
American Ship Building Company built two large drydocks at the site, but went bankrupt in 1995.
Tampa Ship has 7 repair pier berths off McCloskey Blvd at the start of the Sparkman Channel of Hillsborough Bay.
The breakwater was part of the Mulberry harbour, a temporary manmade harbor for World War II, used for the rapid offloading of cargo onto beaches during the Allied invasion of Normandy in June 1944.
[8] [9] Ten of the concrete ships are at the Powell River, British Columbia at 49°51′55″N 124°33′21″W / 49.865238°N 124.555821°W / 49.865238; -124.555821, where a lumber mill then as a breakwater.