Appledore turning the corner

Appledore Shipbuilders in Devon, UK, is working on its first order since the yard went into receivership at the end of 2003 with the loss of more than 500 jobs. The yard, which is under new ownership of Devonport Management Limited (DML), began work late last year on the hull of a multi-million pound super yacht and the company is now seeking to increase its workforce to more than 150.

Meanwhile, DML is continuing the search for more orders and a spokesperson for the company said: “Mainly these are super yachts, which is one of the main reasons we took on Appledore. Hopefully we will be able to get some follow-on projects in the not too distant future. We hope there will be another one to follow this.”

It is also hopes to get work from the Ministry of Defence, with potential opportunities from an extensive build programme for the Royal Navy over the next decade.

More funds for Iran’s marine industries

A senior Iranian shipping industry official said that plans are underway to invest up to $5 billion in the shipbuilding industry over the next few years, stressing that the country is already among the top 20 countries in terms of marine transportation fleet. The official said that Iran is among the top 20 maritime nations, adding that the main obstacle to developing the shipbuilding industry in Iran is the lack of insurance cover for investment risks involved in the business.

He said once approved by the parliament, the marine industries would receive $200 million from foreign exchange reserve fund and that the shipbuilders would also receive financial facilities of up to $1 billion. Iran needs to purchase 40 vessels by 2009 and, while domestic yards are largely incapable of building that many ships, it would take until 2008 before foreign-built vessels could be delivered. This means that Iranian shipping companies will continue to face a shortage of ships in the next few years.