The shipyard was originally created around 1788 by Lord (
Chúa)
Nguyễn Phúc Ánh as the Chu Sư Naval workshop (
Vietnamese:
Xưởng Chu Sư). With help from French engineers Lord Nguyen built a fleet of ships that helped him defeat the
Tây Sơn dynasty and establish him as Emperor Gia Long. The naval workshop was progressively expanded and after the French
conquered Cochinchina in 1862 they expanded the area as the Port de la Marine (Naval Port) under the control of the
French Navy. The French Navy expanded the base facilities making it the Navy headquarters and home to the Naval Artillery and barracks. In 1864, the Navy expanded the Chu Su Naval workshop into the Naval Arsenal and Shipyard which by 1888 had modern facilities including a 168m drydock. In 1902, the base became the headquarters of the Naval Forces of the Oriental Seas under the command of a Vice Admiral who controlled 38 ships and over 3800 officers and sailors. By 1918, the shipyard was capable of building vessels of up to 3500
Deadweight tonnage (DWT). At 03:00 on 31 January 1968 at the start of the
Tet Offensive, twelve
Viet Cong (VC) sappers approached the base in two civilian cars, killing two guards at a barricade at
Me Linh Square and then advanced towards the base gate. The sound of gunfire alerted base sentries who secured the gate and sounded the alarm. A .30-caliber machine gun on the second floor of the headquarters disabled both cars and killed or wounded several sappers while the Navy security force organized a counterattack. Simultaneously a U.S. Navy advisor contacted the U.S. military police who soon attacked the VC from adjoining streets, the resulting crossfire ended the attack, killing eight sappers with two captured.
Post-Vietnam War With the
Fall of Saigon the base was taken over by the VPN which continues to use the barracks at 1A
Ton Duc Thang () to the present day. In 2015, the Ba Son Shipyard was closed and sold to a private developer who later demolished all the facilities to make way for apartment development. The development is a commercial and apartment complex named Saigon – Ba Son, it is also known as the Ba Son Quarter administratively, including the
Ba Son station of
Ho Chi Minh City Metro Line 1, Vinhomes Golden River apartments, Grand Marina Saigon –
JW Marriott and
Marriott Branded Residences with two commercial buildings are the 55-storey Saigon Marina IFC and the upcoming UOB Plaza Vietnam, the new headquarters location in Vietnam of the
United Overseas Bank. Part of this quarter including the commercial buildings in here will be part of the planned international finance center of Ho Chi Minh City. ==References==