Govan Shipbuilders

Govan Shipbuilders Ltd was a British company of the Clydeside area of Glasgow in Scotland taking its name from the Govan area.

The company was formed from Upper Clyde Shipbuilders (UCS), itself a product of the amalgamation of several Clydeside yards, Fairfields, Alex Stephens, Charles Connell and Company, Yarrow Shipbuilders Ltd. and Browns.

In 1971 Upper Clyde Shipbuilders had gone into receivership. Further government support in the form of a £6m loan had been refused by the then Conservative government under Edward Heath. Instead of striking, the unions decided to complete the current orders of the shipyards demonstrating that the labour force was not 'work-shy' and illustrating the long-term viability of the yards. This was successful to a degree. Govan was sold off in 1973 as Govan Shipbuilders. From 1973-1980 Scotstoun Marine Ltd, a subsidiary of Govan Shipbuilders, operated the former Connell shipyard.

In 1977 the Labour government of James Callaghan passed the Aircraft and Shipbuilding Industries Act which nationalised Govan and grouped it with other major British shipyards as British Shipbuilders.

Between 1973 and 1988 at total of 53 ships were built by Govan Shipbuilders at the Govan (former Fairfield) shipyard

In 1988 the Govan Shipbuilders was sold to the Norwegian group Kvaerner Industrier and was renamed Kvaerner Govan Ltd.

External links

* [http://www.clydesite.co.uk/clydebuilt/search.asp The Clyde-built ships data base - lists over 22,000 ships built on the Clyde]