Shipbuilding returns to the Mersey
SHIPBUILDING has returned to the Mersey with the construction of the flight deck for the Royal Navy’s new £44m aircraft carrier, the Queen Elizabeth.
Cammell Laird in Birkenhead is the sixth UK shipyard to start work on the 65,000 tonne ship, joining BAE Systems in Glasgow and Portsmouth, Babcock’s facilities in Devon and Fife, and A&P Tyne on Tyneside.
The yard was awarded a contract to build two huge sections of the new aircraft carrier in late 2009 and since then much work has been underway at the facility to make way for the huge steel structures involved in the job.
Programme director Geoff Searle said: “This is a fantastic day for everyone at Cammell Laird and I am delighted to see work officially start in Birkenhead. The manufacture of this magnificent ship is already well underway right across the UK, with some great progress already being made, something which I am sure will continue at the hands of the Merseyside workforce.
“It is great to see construction start on the Queen Elizabeth on Merseyside, not only because it means that work is now underway in all six UK ship yards but also because it brings shipbuilding home to Merseyside after an absence of over ten years.”
Cammell Laird’s managing director Linton Roberts said: “We are extremely proud to be involved in the building of this great national flagship. Not only does this project allow us to support the national effort, it also underlines the growing reputation and capability of Cammell Laird and our skilled workforce.”
The contract is being carried out by the Aircraft Carrier Alliance, which inlcudes the manufacturers Babcock, BAE Systems, Thales UK and the Ministry of Defence.
Cammell Laird, an historic name in UK shipbuilding, closed its gates in 2001 after going into receivership leaving the site deserted. Since then a small group of Cammell Laird’s former managers, led by managing director John Syvret, built up a new company at the shipyard – Northwestern Shiprepairers and Shipbuilders Limited (NSL) – which was renamed Cammell Laird in 2008.
