Hundreds are back to work at Aker Philadelphia Shipyard

A smiley face that employees painted on a new 46,000-ton ship docked on the Delaware is a sign of the times at Aker Philadelphia Shipyard.Life is getting back to normal at the South Philadelphia shipbuilder, which just a year ago was on the brink of closing. About 200 laid-off Aker employees have been recalled. Together with 325 other Aker workers and 300 subcontractors who had lost jobs, the workforce is now more than 800 — up from 400 a year ago. They are busy constructing two tankers and cutting steel for a third large tanker for Exxon Mobil Corp. affiliate SeaRiver Maritime Inc.