Appledore wins super yacht contract

Appledore Shipbuilders, in North Devon, has won a contract to design and build an 80 metre long super yacht which will provide work for more than 40 engineers and up to 100 construction staff over the course of a year.

The yard, which went into receivership last September, was bought by DML who run Plymouth’s Devonport Dockyard. DML had already indicated that it would consider using Appledore as a base for building specialist vessels such as military ships and super yachts. Although the 140 jobs provided by the contract fall far short of the 550 people employed before the yard went into receivership, staff commented that it is a better alternative than a closed shipyard.