The Princess Dock and Cammell Laird Shipbuilders, Birkenhead

Image: © David Dixon Taken: 20 Jul 2015

Founded in 1828 and is based on the River Mersey, Cammell Laird is one of the most famous names in British industry. In its heyday, the Cammell Laird shipyard built more than 1350 ships including many famous and innovative vessels. The company played a key role in World War I and II both building and repairing vessels. During World War II alone the shipyard produced nearly 200 vessels both commercial and military in support of the UK war effort. Including HMS Rodney, HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Ark Royal. The company’s Birkenhead site expands across 130 acres and includes four dry docks, a large modular construction hall and extensive covered workshops. It is also at the centre of a marine and engineering cluster with easy access to support services classification societies and port state authorities. The company was nationalised along with the rest of the British shipbuilding industry as British Shipbuilders in 1977. In 1986, it returned to the private sector as part of Barrow-in-Furness-based Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering Ltd (VSEL). VSEL and Cammell Laird were the only British shipyards capable of producing nuclear submarines. After the end of the Upholder class submarine building programme in 1993, the owners of Cammell Laird, VSEL, announced the yard's closure. Part of the shipyard site was leased and then sold with the new owners adopting the Cammell Laird name. Today the company operates as an engineering services specialist in military ship refit, commercial ship repair, upgrade and conversion and shipbuilding. http://www.clbh.co.uk/ Cammell Laird http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cammell_Laird Wikipedia

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