page_title: Ateliers et Chantiers de France
section_title: Post-war boom (1945–77)
hierarchical_section_title: Ateliers et Chantiers de France / Post-war boom (1945–77)
caption_attribution_description: English: The cruise ship Pallas Athena arrives in Istanbul harbor on August 1, 1992.Français&#160;: Le navire de croisière Pallas Athena arrive au port d'Istanbul le 1 août 1992.
context_page_description: The Ateliers et Chantiers de France was a major shipyard that was established in Dunkirk, France, in 1898.
  The shipyard boomed in the period before World War I, but struggled in the inter-war period. It was badly damaged during World War II.
  In the first thirty years after the war the shipyard again experienced a boom and employed up to 3,000 workers making oil tankers, and then liquid natural gas tankers.
  Demand dropped off in the 1970s and 1980s.
  In 1972 the shipyard became Chantiers de France-Dunkerque, and in 1983 merged with others yards to become part of Chantiers du Nord et de la Mediterranee, or Normed.
  The shipyard closed in 1987.
context_section_description: The ACF was rebuilt in 1947. The shipyard could accommodate ships of 210 metres (690 ft) length and 4,000 tonnes deadweight.
  The shipyard experienced a boom for the next thirty years.
  During this period the original quay was rebuilt and a second quay added.
  The workshops were modernized to support welding and prefabrication.
  The shipyard received financial support from the state, which became its largest creditor.
  On 15 October 1949 the AP2 workshop was opened, nicknamed "The Cathedral" for its size: 75 by 24 metres (246 by 79 ft) with a height of 30 metres (98 ft).
  The AP2 contained two 30-ton cranes to handle prefabricated welded hull components.
  The ACF employed about 3,000 people in 1950.
  In 1948–52 the shipyard built the liners Flandre, Calédonien and Cambodge for the Compagnie des Messageries Maritimes.
  It moved into construction of large oil tankers, as well as bulk carriers of ore and other products.
  Tankers of 34,000 tonnes were built for an American oil company.
  In 1960 the Schneider group took a major stake in the enterprise, and in following years rationalized production in Dunkirk with operations at other sites.
  On 30 November 1960 the yard became part of the Ateliers et Chantiers de Dunkerque-Bordeaux (ACDB). Almost all the investment by Schneider and the state went into the Dunkirk operation rather than Bordeaux.
  The shipyard started making specialized vessels including "ship garages" or rouliers, refrigerated ships and liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers. 
  The last passenger liner, the Pasteur, was launched on 2 June 1966.
  At the end of 1967 Schneider split up the ACDB.
  In 1972 the yard became Chantiers de France-Dunkerque.
  In 1974–81 the shipyard employed 3,000 workers and staff to design and build seven 130,000 cubic metres (4,600,000 cu ft) LNG carriers.
caption: Former SS Flandre (launched 1951) in service as Pallas Athena
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