Gulf Copper
Founded in 1948, Gulf Copper builds, fabricates and repairs vessels and offshore structures from two shipyards in Galveston and Port Arthur, Texas.
Gulf Copper is a shipbuilding and marine repair and fabrication company founded in 1948, with more than 75 years of continuous operation. It provides new construction, metal fabrication, and repair and refurbishment services for vessels and offshore structures, with particular experience in complex defense vessels and marine structures.
The company's work falls into three lines. New construction covers the building of vessels and marine structures, including work on the U.S. Coast Guard's Arctic Security Cutters. Fabrication produces the metal components required for marine and offshore operations. Repair and refurbishment covers marine assets, vessels, and offshore structures. Its technical domains include marine repair and refurbishment, metal fabrication, shipbuilding and new construction, offshore structure fabrication and repair, and defense vessel construction.
Gulf Copper operates two shipyard facilities, in Galveston and Port Arthur, Texas, on the Texas Gulf Coast, serving customers in marine and shipbuilding, oil and gas, defense, government, commercial marine, and transportation. The company became a subsidiary of Davie Defense in December 2025 and retained its experienced management team and workforce following the acquisition.
Current investment is directed at workforce-development programmes run with local colleges and at modernising the Texas shipyards, as the company supports a larger role in American shipbuilding and security.