Southwest Marine Inc. might employ as many...

Southwest Marine Inc. might employ as many as 1,000 people at its newly acquired 50-acre shipyard in San Francisco. Southwest occupied the former Todd shipyard property Thursday and received its first ship the same day, a vessel recently acquired by Sea Land.

Southwest announced plans to take over the property in July after financially troubled Todd informed the Port of San Francisco that it intended to break its lease and vacate the property. Todd has since filed for protection under Chapter 11 of the federal bankruptcy code. Southwest moved to the new yard from its previous facility at Pier 28, where it employed 350 people. Southwest, with 1986 revenue of $130 million, also operates shipyards in San Diego and San Pedro, employing a total of 2,450 people.