GENERAL NEWS

Specialisation is the key

Importer 28 years ago

pite orderbook

barely extending pa

t mid-1999

and

the

trong pound, the UK`

remaining commercial

hipbuilder

believe they can continue to compete.

The

trength of

terling i

making competition between UK yard

and

other

in northern Europe harder,

and

there i

no doubt that thi

having an impact on yard

` abilitie

to win order

They are continuing to concentrate on

peciali

ed, high added-value tonnage, with a high engineering content, to avoid lower co

t competition from over

impler

hip

. “The UK can compete on the more complex tonnage, but it i

increa

ingly difficult on

imple tonnage,” feel

Fergu

hipbuilder

` Ken Fulford. “If it i

imple, the owner can find cheaper place

to build.” Of the three main yard

, Appledore ha

been the mo

t involved in building

impler ve

along

ide it

high-value tonnage in the la

t few year

, with deliverie

including coa

ter

and

mall product tanker

and

bulk carrier

. “We will

upply whatever the market want

,”

managing director Jim Wil

on.

ay that the Briti

h government ha

done little to help

hipbuilding in recent year

would be an under

tatement, though the new Labour admini

tration i

now talking of

upporting the indu

try. Mo

t are under

and

ably

ceptical, but a new

hipbuilding Forum ha

been e

tabli

hed,

and

it will be intere

ting to

ee if anything po

itive emerge

. Meanwhile, the

and

ard 4.5 per cent/9 per cent intervention

cheme i

the limit of

upport. Regional aid could be available under EU rule

, but Appledore`

Mr Wil

tate

: “We have not had one penny from government

ource

except from the intervention fund.”

Kvaerner Govan Order

at Kvaerner Govan are dominated by off

hore related tonnage. Two

upply boat

for Far

tad will be delivered in January

and

March 1999,

and

a highly

ophi

ticated oil well te

t ve

el for Brovig take

the yard through to July next year. Thi

the extent of the orderbook,

o it need

ecure contract

by the end of the year to en

ure continuity on

teel production,

and

optimi

tic that order

are forthcoming.

It i

continuing to look to niche market

uch a

chemical carrier

and

upply boat

. The yard i

competitive in the value added,

peciali

t market

, Anti Pankako

ki, vice pre

ident of Kvaerner

hipbuilding, explain

. “Thi

been the plan for a number of year

and

there i

no rea

on to change it.” While

upply ve

may look

mall for a

ite with 205m panamax beam building berth

, they are perfectly

uited to the facility,

Mr Pankako

ki. It i

o bidding on a number of Briti

h government project

Govan i

benchmarked again

t other yard

in the Kvaerner group

and

been underperforming,

o a new

trategy wa

implemented to rever

e lo

and

improve profitability. Production philo

ophy ha

changed completely, with the yard concentrating on the core di

cipline

teel

and

pipe work. Engineering ha

o been kept in-hou

e, with 60 engineer

employed.

teel capacity run

at 20,000t/yr. “The more

teel we do in-hou

e, the more competitive we are,” explain

marketing manager

am Cameron.

Many other non-core di

cipline

are now out

ourced, in particular where the yard

element

of ri

k. Thi

policy ha

led to a

ignificant reduction in workforce, which i

down to below 900 from more than 1500 ju

t over a year ago. There have al

o been management change

. The yard i

now applying be

t practi

e, ba

ed on group experience, explain

Mr Pankako

ki. “Efficiency i

on a completely different level when compared to two or three year

ago.” A £7 million ($11.4 million) inve

tment programme i

underway, aimed mainly at improving efficiency in Foran 3D CAD

tem.

Govan ha

delivered three

hip

thi

year; the 36,800 dwt chemical tanker

Jo Cypre

s

s

to JO Tanker

and

two type V

483

upply ve

to Toi

a; the 82.85 loa x 19m x 7.6m

Toi

a Intrepid

and

Toi

a Invincible

. Propul

ion on the

hip

provided by two 2,460kW (3,300 bhp) W<#138>rt

il<#138> 6R32E main engine

each driving a 1,750kW

haft generator

and

CP propeller, giving a

ervice

peed of 12 knot

. They are equipped with a

imrad DP

tem

and

twin 735kW (1,000 bhp) VP thru

ter

fore

and

aft. Toi

manager

ealion

hipping modified the de

ign to provide accommodation for up to 25 per

onnel,

and

prepared the ve

for additional DP equipment for capability in exce

of pure

upply

hip operation

. The contract wa

worth approximately £27 million to the yard. The two Far

tad

hip

are being built to the V

420 de

ign with

imilar dimen

ion

. Contract value i

ome £14 million ($22.8 million) per

hip.

Appledore

hipbuilder

delivered two

hip

thi

year,

and

three on order. Toi

a will take delivery of two 72m x 16m x 6m 3,150dwt ROV

upport/

upply ve

in February

and

April next year,

and

a fi

hery patrol ve

el will be completed for the Iri

h navy in

eptember next year. There i

an option for a

econd fi

hery patrol ve

el,

and

the yard i

working on two or three

olid enquirie

, according to Mr Wil

on, who i

equally optimi

tic about winning contract

and

maintaining continuity. “We can compete, but the pound i

hurting u

and

intere

t rate

are too high,” he

Appledore delivered the twin

crew pa

enger ferry

Clan

man

to Caledonian MacBrayne in the

ummer. The 5,400g ferry mea

ure

99m loa x 15.8m x 5.5m

and

equipped with twin MaK 8M32 main engine

each developing 3,840kW (5,1590 bhp).

peed at 85 per cent MCR i

16.5 knot

. The ve

el i

arranged for

tern

and

bow loading with a

emi-enclo

ed vehicle deck,

and

capacity for 90 car

, or up to ten HGV

on the main deck,

and

ten car

on a hoi

table car deck. Pa

enger capacity i

634. The double hulled 6,250 dwt product carrier,

ley PG

, wa

delivered to Campbell Maritime in January.

When Langham Indu

trie

took Appledore over in 1989, it had a turnover of £12 million ($19.6 million)

and

ing £6 million ($9.8 million) annually. Today, turnover i

around £40 million ($65.6 million). Mr Wil

on i

trongly committed to creating employment,

and

the yard trie

to do everything in-hou

e, including all de

ign work; the Toi

a boat

have been de

igned at Appledore, for example.

teel capacity i

150 t/week,

and

the workforce

and

at around 500 people. 13 apprentice

are taken on each year. Recent inve

tment include

extending the cutting

hed

and

refurbi

hing a 75m

lipway, which ha

been u

ed to con

truct

ection

and

for repair.

Port Gla

gow`

Fergu

hipbuilder

delivered the platform

upply ve

tirling Tay

at the end of June,

and

cheduled to h

and

over a final

ter

hip to

tirling

hipping in February. At the time of writing thi

the

ole ve

el on the yard`

book

tirling ordered four

imilar ve

in an inve

tment worth approximately £55 million ($90.1 million); three at Fergu

and

one at Kvaerner Govan. The

e ve

are al

o ba

ed on the V

483 de

ign from Vik

and

vik, but have an azimuthing thru

ter forward in place of one of the tunnel thru

ter

With

uch a thin forward order

ituation the yard i

obviou

ly looking hard for new order

and

Fergu

on`

Ken Fulford explain

that they have good pro

pect

for new contract

. “We expect another job

oon,” he

. But he al

o comment

that the market i

quiet, with fewer enquirie

than in recent year

and

a definite tendency for project

to be delayed.

Fergu

on i

limited to building

hip

of 100m in length,

and

like the other

focu

ed on more complex

hip

with a high engineering content. The off

hore market ha

been mo

t fruitful recently, but it i

o keeping an eye on other

ector

, notably the ferry market, where it

good pro

pect

. The Briti

h government announced that

cotti

h i

and

ferry operator Caledonian MacBrayne ha

been allocated budget for further newbuilding, for example,

and

Fergu

on ha

built for the company before.

It al

o ha

hope

for the dredger market in the medium term. The yard ha

a long hi

tory of building dredger tonnage, though it ha

only delivered one in the la

t ten year

. “Dredger

have the high engineering content that

uit

the balance of people in the yard now,” Mr Fulford explain

. “We are not fully competitive without a good level of engineering.” Thi

mean

that the general coa

ter market i

generally out of the yard`

cope, unle

there i

omething particularly unu

ual or complex in the de

ign.

Fergu

on employ

taff of around 350, of which

ome two third

are permanent. It doe

own

teel work,

and

not been tempted to build hull

at cheaper over

location

, unlike many of it

competitor

in The Netherl

and

Norway. Fergu

on i

not convinced that building hull

over

actually produce

the

aving

they

eem to promi

ALTERNATIVE FUELS & LUBRICANTS

PFF: Alternative fuel opportunities in focus

20th July 2026

GENERAL NEWS

Wärtsilä inks FSRU service agreement

15th July 2026

GENERAL NEWS

Kongsberg strengthens propulsion market position

15th July 2026

News

Motorship

Featured

Industry Database

Specialisation is the key

Related Articles

PFF: Alternative fuel opportunities in focus

Wärtsilä inks FSRU service agreement

Kongsberg strengthens propulsion market position