Cammell Laird Gibraltar

Cammell Laird Gibraltar is a ship repair facility at Gibraltar.

History

The dockyard in Gibraltar was built at the end of the 19th century; three large graving docks to be known as docks Number 1, 2 and 3 were built.Number three dock was the first to open in 1904 and was named King Edward VII, Queen Alexandra named number two dock after herself, and number one dock was called the Prince and Princess of Wales dock, having been named by their Royal Highnesses, subsequently King George V and Queen Mary.

Ownership

The dockyard was used extensively by the Royal Navy docking many of the Royal Navy’s most prestigious ships. In the early 1980s a decision by the Ministry of Defence to cut back the Royal Navy’s surface fleet meant that the dockyard was no longer financially viable.

In 1982 the dockyard passed into the hands of UK Ship Repair Company A & P. A government grant and a promise of lucrative Royal Fleet Auxiliary contracts did not help A & P and they passed the yard into the hands of the Gibraltar Government.

A company was set up to run the yard and it became known as Gibraltar Ship Repair in the early 1990s the dockyard was taken over Kværner who ran the yard until 1996, the yard then closed for a period of approximately 18 months.

Cammell Laird

In 1997 the UK Company Cammell Laird based on Merseyside were looking to expand their operations outside the UK and in early 1998 a management team arrived in Gibraltar, the yard was reopened and the first ship docked within a few weeks. Again the dockyards future was put at risk when in early 2001 Cammell Laird Group PLC ran into difficulties, which eventually led to its closure.

When it became inevitable that Cammell Laird Group PLC was to close, senior management at Gibraltar with the backing of the Gibraltar Government were successful in their quest to source the necessary financial assistance to keep the company running.

Fresh start

During the first semester of 2006 Cammell Laird Group sold in its entirety to private investors. The new owner’s intention is to continue with the existing business whilst developing the Super Yacht work.

The change in ownership led to a change in the management structure with the appointment of a new Senior Management team with new department heads consisting of Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Finance Director, Operations Director and Projects & Development Director. In addition a Sales & Marketing Manager and Quality, Health & Safety Manager also joined the company.

The new company continues to trade as Cammell Laird Gibraltar Ltd and shall remain as a highly successful ship and yacht repair facility, providing repair services to all areas of the maritime industry.