The Biesboschhal is located on the Staart, a headland in the northeast of Dordrecht. Until the beginning of the twentieth century, this tongue of land consisted of gorzen,the Veerplaat and the Kerkeplaat. The gorzen flooded at high tide and were therefore used for logging and salmon fishing. At the end of the nineteenth century, the municipality raised the gorzen and the headland was made available for building ships.
In 1901, ir. J. Bijvoet opened the NV Scheepswerf Dordrecht there. For this purpose, he had the harbor basin constructed on the Merwede side. More to the east, machine factory De Biesbosch was established in 1917. The companies merged in 1927. Only in 1938 did they use the name Scheepswerf en Machinefabriek De Biesbosch. The company specialized in the assembly of ships that were prefabricated in America. Later they also produced push barges, barges and coasters.
In its heyday, the machine shop employed more than 750 people. The lack of orders forced the factory to close its doors in 2000. Until the turn of the century, about nine hundred ships were launched.
