Appledore

[BobClay]

Soon to be no more.

[Dartskipper]

That is a great shame. That yard built some very specialised vessels, and also refitted lifeboats for the RNLI. More skills chucked over the side with the gash.

[Tomvart]

Dreadfull news for the much hoped for regeneration of UK shipbuilding and the local economy.........so much for the National shipbuilding strategy.
I suppose it goes to show how tight the margins are - despite the yard producing a good product and innovative designs. Cammel Lairds up here in the Wirral are also feeling the squeeze despite winning new orders from the RFA and RN, according to local news they are about to start shedding manpower....sadly not what everyone up here was expecting.

[Engine Serang]

Appledore kept afloat for 10 to 12 years by building Patrol Vessels for the Irish Navy. And a bit of the bow for the new carriers. Very disappointing to see them going to the wall.

[Tomvart]

A very informative report on 'Save The Royal Navy' website offered a faint ray of light......
"Although Babcock will end their interest in the yard, the site remains owned by Langham Industries and business leaders in Devon are holding out hopes the yard might be sold as a going concern to a new buyer. Appledore has a history of coming back from the brink, having been on the verge of closure several times before. Perhaps a buyer with a new vision could still harness the considerable potential that remains".

[BobClay]

Originally Posted by Tomvart

A very informative report on 'Save The Royal Navy' website offered a faint ray of light......
"Although Babcock will end their interest in the yard, the site remains owned by Langham Industries and business leaders in Devon are holding out hopes the yard might be sold as a going concern to a new buyer. Appledore has a history of coming back from the brink, having been on the verge of closure several times before. Perhaps a buyer with a new vision could still harness the considerable potential that remains".

Here's hoping so …

[BillH]

Better news this year.

The same organisation that bought the Harland & Wolff yard in Belfast have also now acquired Appledore and say it will be rebranded as Harland & Wolff (Appledore) Ltd

[Tim Gibbs]

Originally Posted by BillH

Better news this year.

The same organisation that bought the Harland & Wolff yard in Belfast have also now acquired Appledore and say it will be rebranded as Harland & Wolff (Appledore) Ltd

But what are they going to do with it and will they find a workforce to operate it?
Past history suggests it needs two 100m ships( or the equivalent) a year to be viable. I've spoken to a few ex-employees and none seem that interested in returning.

[Lancsman]

Has there been any update on this, or has it stalled because of C-19?

[SJB]

Originally Posted by BillH

Better news this year.

The same organisation that bought the Harland & Wolff yard in Belfast have also now acquired Appledore and say it will be rebranded as Harland & Wolff (Appledore) Ltd

What organisation is that? One year ago Dolphin Energy, owned by Fred Olsen was the owner of the yard, and filed for bankruptcy. According to Fred Olsen (Who is not the first head of the Fred Olsen company with that name.), today it is impossible to compete with yards in South Korea and China who has both much lower labour expenses and much higher "intensity" (whatever he meant by that - perhaps simply that their workers work harder?). He had been hoping for orders from the Irish sea offshore wind energy projects, but this seemed to be lagging. That was the situation one year and two months ago. Of course the yard may have been taken off Olsen's hands by someone who saw a future in shipbuilding for the legendary yard, but that they should immediately expand through buying another yard sounds strange to me... (And btw., Fred Olsen also owned the Aker yard in Oslo, of which I believe they could as an alternative to closing it down have opened it as a museum, this without having to change anything at all. )

[Malcolm G]

The Company that now owns the Appledore yard is Infrastrata

https://www.infrastrataplc.com/about-us/


I found this on their website, dated 19/11/20


Today the Prime Minister announced an extra £16.5bn in defence spending – the biggest investment programme in British defence since the end of the Cold War. He set out his vision to position Britain as the “foremost naval power in Europe” and by doing this enabling the “renaissance of British shipbuilding”, in particular noting the two Harland & Wolff shipyards in Belfast and Appledore, respectively, amongst others.
“We very much welcome the Prime Minister’s announcement today to increase defence spending. This builds on yesterday’s Ten Point Plan announcement, much of which will directly benefit InfraStrata, since our group, as it currently stands, spans at least half of the Prime Minister’s ten points.”
“When we acquired both the Belfast and Appledore shipyards, we set out a vision to unlock the potential of these two critical and strategic facilities. The Harland & Wolff Group is determined to making the most of this increased defence budget and commitment to UK naval power. It is clear from today’s announcement that there will be substantial packages of work available, with an additional eight Type 26 and five Type 31 vessels being confirmed in addition to Type 32 and other research vessels”
Harland & Wolff is well in the running for the Fleet Solid Support Warship programme worth circa £1.5bn. Its reclassification as a warship means that the programme has to be led by a British shipyard with a “significant proportion of the build and assembly work to be carried out in the UK”. As a significant stakeholder in Team Resolute, Harland & Wolff, unlike the current duopoly of defence primes, has the capacity and capability to deliver on this programme on time (or ahead of time) and on budget. Whilst we are friendly disruptors, we will continue to work alongside our competitors to secure the best outcome for British shipbuilding and future generations of school and university leavers.
“We saw the commitment this government and this Prime Minister has to reviving proper British shipbuilding when he visited our Appledore shipyard in August. We look forward to working with government on both defence and the Green Industrial Revolution in order to secure the future of our two shipyards, become the centre of excellence for renewable energy fabrication in the UK and build a portfolio of profitable domestic and export oriented contracts.”

[SJB]

It would not do buying British warships from Fred Olsen I suppose, and it certainly would not do buying them from China. But building warships for the government is not like competing on the open market. And so the two yards have actually not been saved any more than a covid 19 patient on artificial respiration has been saved. But of course there might be a race to naval superiority between China and the West on the horizon and if so Harland and Wolff might be in the money for years to come.
Should anyone be in contact with Nick from New Zealand, that captain from Tintin portrait fellow on SN, and able to tell him the news, he might be encouraged to leave for old England immediately, if he has not already done so.

[lakercapt]

It was many years ago when Jebsens built the "R" boats in this yard and they were good ships to work on with some new innovations for the time.

[Julian N]

I was on the Welsh Piper, a self-discharging aggregates dredger, when we berthed in Appledore some 10 years after the ship had been built there. It was the first time the ship had returned and it aroused a fair bit of interest with workers from the yard. They were interested in seeing how 'one of theirs' was doing. There were also a few jokers who shouted that they were amazed we were still afloat! They must have done something right as she is still trading some 33 years after being built.

[Tim Gibbs]

Originally Posted by Julian N

I was on the Welsh Piper, a self-discharging aggregates dredger, when we berthed in Appledore some 10 years after the ship had been built there. It was the first time the ship had returned and it aroused a fair bit of interest with workers from the yard. They were interested in seeing how 'one of theirs' was doing. There were also a few jokers who shouted that they were amazed we were still afloat! They must have done something right as she is still trading some 33 years after being built.

Yes, fairly original except of the main engine

[Skerries]

Best yard I ever worked with. Worked on building of ‘RRS Charles Darwin’ and Rowbothams ‘Tankerman’ there. Great and very friendly workforce who were generally always willing to lend a hand.
There was a slight ‘glitch’ under British Shipbuilders when they shipped a bunch of electricians and shipwrights down from the Clyde to work there which caused some union issues. I remember the electrical boss Jimmy Knott who was quite a character there and his sidekick (think it was Ken Higget?) who had a reputation for ‘linking out’ troublesome alarms in the engine control room. Not always the best solution.
On Charles Darwin during the measured mile we tuned the main transmitter on 4Mhz and the ship went hard a port! Took a while to find that issue……

[Tim Gibbs]

Originally Posted by Skerries

Best yard I ever worked with. Worked on building of ‘RRS Charles Darwin’ and Rowbothams ‘Tankerman’ there. Great and very friendly workforce who were generally always willing to lend a hand.
There was a slight ‘glitch’ under British Shipbuilders when they shipped a bunch of electricians and shipwrights down from the Clyde to work there which caused some union issues. I remember the electrical boss Jimmy Knott who was quite a character there and his sidekick (think it was Ken Higget?) who had a reputation for ‘linking out’ troublesome alarms in the engine control room. Not always the best solution.
On Charles Darwin during the measured mile we tuned the main transmitter on 4Mhz and the ship went hard a port! Took a while to find that issue……

Ken Higget = Tom Wigget ? !
I have been responsible for 10 ships from ASL since 1977. My experience was that, in general, we got exactly the ships we needed, whereas from many other yards (particularly Dutch) you got the ship they wanted to give you!
It was always a bit stressful getting the Appledore ships finished and performing to spec but in the case of 5 of them (AS 126, 148/9 and 169/70) they turned out to be great vessels and made us serious money ....... because they were exactly the vessels we needed.
You need to know your business now and into the future to know what ship you need to match the business. Sounds obvious but even today there are shipowners who seem incapable of defining what their business needs and end up specifying what they want- often two very different things!

[Skerries]

Originally Posted by Tim Gibbs

Ken Higget = Tom Wigget ? !
I have been responsible for 10 ships from ASL since 1977. My experience was that, in general, we got exactly the ships we needed, whereas from many other yards (particularly Dutch) you got the ship they wanted to give you!
It was always a bit stressful getting the Appledore ships finished and performing to spec but in the case of 5 of them (AS 126, 148/9 and 169/70) they turned out to be great vessels and made us serious money ....... because they were exactly the vessels we needed.
You need to know your business now and into the future to know what ship you need to match the business. Sounds obvious but even today there are shipowners who seem incapable of defining what their business needs and end up specifying what they want- often two very different things!

You got it! Tom was Ken 😀
Just remembered another couple I stood by there as well. A Cuban dredger (can’t remember the name) and a Wimpey offshore vessel… think it was Wimpey Seadog?
Great yard…..

[Tim Gibbs]

Originally Posted by Skerries

You got it! Tom was Ken 😀
Just remembered another couple I stood by there as well. A Cuban dredger (can’t remember the name) and a Wimpey offshore vessel… think it was Wimpey Seadog?
Great yard…..

Was it the cutter suction dredger ?
I think there were two, the Wimpy Seadog and Seafox?

[Varley]

I made a small investment in the 80s (on the suggestion of a colleague). I cannot remember when I sold out but my memory is of a proper commercial operation able to perform against the competition BS could not. I don't think we did anything much in the way of business with them perhaps MV Arctic and Merchant Prince for repairs.

[Howardang]

Originally Posted by Tim Gibbs

Was it the cutter suction dredger ?
I think there were two, the Wimpy Seadog and Seafox?

In around 1974 Appledore built Fastnet Shore - anchor handling supply vessel - for Offshore Marine Ltd (part of the Cunard Group). I took her out new from the yard as the first master and the ship performed very well and I was very pleased with her.

I think she is still around.

Howard

[rogd]

I sailed on the Manchester Zeal,built by Appledore. A super little ship.

[Skerries]

Originally Posted by Tim Gibbs

Was it the cutter suction dredger ?
I think there were two, the Wimpy Seadog and Seafox?

Yes to the cutter dredger …not very big and quite unique
Only did Wimpey Seadog and did her initial sea trials and measured mile

[Skerries]

Originally Posted by Varley

I made a small investment in the 80s (on the suggestion of a colleague). I cannot remember when I sold out but my memory is of a proper commercial operation able to perform against the competition BS could not. I don't think we did anything much in the way of business with them perhaps MV Arctic and Merchant Prince for repairs.

David - did you invest when they were owned by Court Line?

[Varley]

Sorry OM, I don't recall he detail. I suspect I took a tip from a trusted colleague and followed it (modestly) on an accepted risk basis.