Transportation - Ship Building
Shipbuilding has become the symbol of British industrial decline in the twentieth century. In 1914 British shipyards were producing more new tonnage, both naval and merchant, than the rest of the world put together. By the 1990s Britain had ceased to be a volume producer of ships. P&O took delivery of some of the world's largest cruise ships during that decade. Not one was built in Britain. At the start of the twenty-first century it is being seriously proposed that two new aircraft carriers for the Royal Navy might be built in French shipyards.
The British government had been aware of the underlying problems of the shipbuilding industry since the war years, but in the postwar boom there seemed to be no grounds for intervention. However, the shipbuilding recession of 1958-61 swiftly showed up the industry's failings. After 1961 world shipbuilding revived rapidly, but British shipbuilding continued to stagnate. The shipbuilding credit scheme of 1963 provided a temporary lifeline, while the Geddes committee was appointed in 1965 to carry out a wide-ranging inquiry into the industry. It concluded that the answer to the industry's problems lay in linking yards in geographical groupings that would achieve economies of scale and other benefits. The authors give a fascinating account of how the various shipbuilding firms jockeyed for position in the late 1960s as they reluctantly grouped to obtain promised government financial support.
For Labour nationalisation was the last resort; for the Conservatives it was privatisation. The pale shadow of a once great industry is all that remains after those political initiatives.
Knowles has a keen understanding of today's shipbuilding industry and has both national and international clients who benefit from our expertise and skills in finding solutions to complex problems facing many shipbuilding projects. Our skills are gained through decades of working with clients in the construction and engineering arena of the Shipbuilding business.
Should you have a problem you would like to discuss or require more information on Knowles services aligned to this business sector please contact
info@jrknowles.com
