Appledore ship yard Closure

[Ken Norton]

Another ship yard closes, Appledore closed its' gates this evening :- Sad news after over two hundred odd years....https://www.bing.com/news/search?q=A...oses&FORM=EWRE

[vic mcclymont]

Sorry to see any shipyard closure.
See the media has wrong info on the yard, as usual.
P.K. Harris were the original owners.
In 1964 Court Line bought the orginal yard and renamed it Appledore.
In 1966 Court Line commenced building the new shipbuilding factory on a green field site. The new yard (existing) opened in 1970 and was Europes first covered factory shibuilding yard.
Vic

[Tony Skilton]

On July 10th last year I managed to get to the Appledore Yard - spent an hour in the security watch house talking to the guards (it was after 2100, so I couldn't get into the yard itself) - they had a patrol vessel there nearly completed for the Irish Navy, and were desperately hoping to get more contracts. But, sadly, it was not to be.

I can still remember the full-page adverts in the Motorship magazines back in the 1960s - 70s - 80s for the ships built in this yard.

Skilly

[happy daze john in oz]

This is happening across the western world, ship yards closing and the ship building going to countries such as South Korea where wages are so much lower.

Here in Melbourne, in Williams town, there was a very good ship building yard owned by BAE.
Now closed though all is there should it ever get the chance to re-open.
But with RAN ships now being built in Spain somehow I doubt it.

[Terry Bryce]

I spent a year in Samho's yard in Mokpo SK, I was doing the electrical commissioning and equipment preservation on a new build drill ship working closely obviously with the Korean shipyard personnel, they had a massive recruitment problem attracting young local people as none wanted to get dirty grinding and welding in the shipyard but preferred cleaner jobs in electronics with Samsung and LG or with car manufacturers Kia and Hyundai, so the shipyard had to import chinese labour to fulfill contracts, so not all is rosy in South Korean shipbuilding.

[Graham Payne]

I seem to remember joining a new built ship and taking it out on it's maiden voyage circa the late '60s.
It was the "Hovering VI " a sand & gravel dredger.

[vic mcclymont]

Falls of Clyde International Limited are hoping to secure the yard and use it for the restoration of the sailing ship Falls of Clyde.
The idea is s that tourists would be encouraged to visit the yard in order to see the restoration progress.
Vic

[Ken Norton]

I used to visit the yard with a fellow engineer..... The Insitute of Marine Engineers laid on the visits. Also had a friend who was C/E on the Arco Axe which was built there. Spent a couple of weekends up there when she was completed and he was in town. Blew the froth off a couple if memory serves me correctly

[happy daze john in oz]

I spent a year in Samho's yard in Mokpo SK, I was doing the electrical commissioning and equipment preservation on a new build drill ship working closely obviously with the Korean shipyard personnel, they had a massive recruitment problem attracting young local people as none wanted to get dirty grinding and welding in the shipyard but preferred cleaner jobs in electronics with Samsung and LG or with car manufacturers Kia and Hyundai, so the shipyard had to import chinese labour to fulfill contracts, so not all is rosy in South Korean shipbuilding.

Busan is now considered the largest ship building yard globally.
But yes they do import workers, but rather ironic that while there is Chinese labor there, China outsources all its clothing manufacturing to Cambodia where wages are lower then in China for that work.