Appledore Shipyard re-activated under new owners

[RBMK]

Previously owned by Babcock, will now operate as Harland & Wolff (Appledore)

Appledore Shipyard to reopen after £7m InfraStrata deal

Appledore Shipyard in Devon closed in March 2019 but has now been bought by InfraStrata.

www.bbc.co.uk

Let's hope that this venture will be properly supported by MOD for the building of new RN and FA ships.

 

[Yokel]

I admire your optimism but Appledore is unsuited to constructing complex warships. Offshore Patrol Vessels and hydrographic survey ships are what they can do.

They cannot build large vessels such as those needed for the new RFA Stores Ships, but the new owner also owns the Harland and Wolff yard in Belfast, so maybe....

As recently as the nineties Appledore was busy building commercial vessels, cargo ships, chemical tankers and so on. As a local to the area I would dearly love to see that again.

 

[RBMK]

The yard constructed the bow sections for the QE carriers so there is an opportunity to construct parts of ships many of which are modular construction.

Regardless of which, I wish them luck and hope that the stupidity of the UK buying naval ships abroad will end.

 

[Yokel]

The UK has never bought naval ships - warships - from aboard, except during World War Two. Recently we bought RFA tankers (auxiliaries as opposed to warships as such) from a South Korean yard due to cost and capacity issues.

Where the new RFAs get built is a political hot potato.

 

[vvaannmmaann]

I thought it was referring to in Appledore,Kent - that is some eight miles from the sea. There was once a thriving ship building industry in and around the Kent one.

 

[lastwalt]

I thought it was referring to in Appledore,Kent - that is some eight miles from the sea. There was once a thriving ship building industry in and around the Kent one.

Right up until the Rother changed course...



...in 1287

 

[rampant]

The yard constructed the bow sections for the QE carriers so there is an opportunity to construct parts of ships many of which are modular construction.

Regardless of which, I wish them luck and hope that the stupidity of the UK buying naval ships abroad will end.

When was the last time we bought a Naval Ship abroad?

 

[RBMK]

When was the last time we bought a Naval Ship abroad?

Technically not naval ships but the last two RFAs, Tiderace and Tidespting were built by Daewoo in Korea allegedly because of capacity constraints in the UK. IMHO spliiting hairs that these are not naval vessels.

My further opinion is that we would not have had a capacity issue has successive govenments supported the UK shipbuilding industry properly.

 

[rampant]

Technically not naval ships but the last two RFAs, Tiderace and Tidespting were built by Daewoo in Korea allegedly because of capacity constraints in the UK. IMHO spliiting hairs that these are not naval vessels.

My further opinion is that we would not have had a capacity issue has successive govenments supported the UK shipbuilding industry properly.

Not a technicallly, the RFA is a distinct separate organisation within the MoD. And the Koreans got the gig, because, amongst another reasons, not a single British Yard entered a bid.

 

[PhotEx]

Foreign ships?

Argus is Breda, Italian, two of the Point Class are Flensburger, Germany.

Papers and retired old farts make a load of noise, but 99.999% of the public neither know nor care.

 

[Yokel]

Argus was purchased from the company that were operating her. MOD had nothing to do with the design, and her conversion was at Harland and Wolff in Belfast, and extensive.

The Point class Ro-Ros were procured as civilian ships operated by a company under a PFI scheme. Hence they are Motor Vessels (MV) and not RFA

 

[PhotEx]

Argus was purchased from the company that were operating her. MOD had nothing to do with the design, and her conversion was at Harland and Wolff in Belfast, and extensive.

And yet no one gets all upset about the Italian builders plate

The Point class Ro-Ros were procured as civilian ships operated by a company under a PFI scheme. Hence they are Motor Vessels (MV) and not RFA

They are London registered, fly the Red Ensign, and manned with UK nationals who are sponsored reserves. Its an RFA in all but name, its even used on Amphibious ops, just the same as the old LSL's were manned and operated by B&I Line back in the day.

Where the ships are built ins meaningless except to Outraged! of Tumbridge Wells.

Takes your pick.

Build 3 fast, well and efficiently in Spain with Spanish labour.

Build 2 slow, badly and inefficiently in an as yet non existent yard in the UK… with mostly foreign labour.

 

[MuddyOldEngineer]

Foreign ships?

Argus is Breda, Italian, two of the Point Class are Flensburger, Germany.

Papers and retired old fart makes a load of noise, but 99.999% of the site don't care.

Edited with you in mind.

 

[Chalky101]

Worked on a handful of the Arco tubs for A&P, brings back memories.

 

[Yokel]

According to the local BBC News, the Prime Minister was there for the announcement. Typically for him, he spoke to and did the elbow thumo thing with everyone there, including some visiting students. They said thirty to forty jobs we be created within weeks, and several hundred over a longer period.

 

[bobthebuilder]

Technically not naval ships but the last two RFAs, Tiderace and Tidespting were built by Daewoo in Korea allegedly because of capacity constraints in the UK. IMHO spliiting hairs that these are not naval vessels.

My further opinion is that we would not have had a capacity issue has successive govenments supported the UK shipbuilding industry properly.

Why should successive governments use taxes raised from successful, profitable industries to support failing, unprofitable ones?

 

[RBMK]

In order to retain key defence capability within the UK and not rely on foreign yards.

Some may not consider this important, but I do. There is also economic evidence that a lot of the money spent in subsidising UK industries actually gets back into the UK economy as taxes.

 

[PapaGolf]

In order to retain key defence capability within the UK and not rely on foreign yards.

Some may not consider this important, but I do. There is also economic evidence that a lot of the money spent in subsidising UK industries actually gets back into the UK economy as taxes.

Until a lot of that money spent is soaked up by belligerent inept project managers in Babcock et al, before you know it witless morons have signed off billions of pounds of over budget spending. All because some hapless cxxt hasn’t got a clue about what they’ve signed

 

[RBMK]

I am no fan of MOD procurement practices.
As a frequent MOD / DIO / RPC contractor I've been on the wrong end of incompetence far too many times.

 

[instinct]

Technically not naval ships but the last two RFAs, Tiderace and Tidespting were built by Daewoo in Korea allegedly because of capacity constraints in the UK. IMHO spliiting hairs that these are not naval vessels.

My further opinion is that we would not have had a capacity issue has successive govenments supported the UK shipbuilding industry properly.

Not to be too pedantic but 4 Tide class tankers were built in Korea. Here we have RFA Tideforce at rest.

Sent from my moto g(7) power using Tapatalk