Gibdock

Gibdock

Company type	Private company
Industry	Shipbuilding Maritime
Genre	Shipyard services
Predecessor	Cammell Laird
Founded	Main Wharf Road, Gibraltar Dockyard, Gibraltar (1904 (1904))
Founder	Royal Navy
Headquarters	Main Wharf Road, Gibraltar Dockyard, Gibraltar
Area served	Gibraltar
Key people	Joseph Corvelli (CEO) Richard Beards Commercial Director (President)
Services	Ship repair
Website	Gibdock.com

Dry docks at Gibdock as seen from the Rock of Gibraltar.

Gibdock is a shipyard in the British overseas territory of Gibraltar.

History

The Royal Navy 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 3 dock was the first to open in 1904 and was named King Edward VII, Queen Alexandra named Number 2 dock after herself, and the largest, Number 1 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 Navy’s most prestigious ships. In the early 1980s a decision by the United Kingdom's Ministry of Defence to cut back the Royal Navy surface fleet meant that the dockyard was no longer financially viable.

In 1982 the dockyard passed into the hands of the UK ship repair and conversion company, A&P Group. A government grant and a prospect of lucrative Royal Fleet Auxiliary refit contracts did not help A&P Group however and they passed the yard into the hands of the Government of Gibraltar.

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 by Norway-based engineering and construction services company, Kværner, who ran the yard until 1996, the yard then closed for a period of approximately 18 months.

Cammell Laird

In 1997 the British shipbuilding company Cammell Laird based in Merseyside, were looking to expand their operations outside the UK and in early 1998 a management team arrived at Gibraltar. The yard was reopened and the first ship docked within a few weeks. The dockyard's future was again 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 in Gibraltar, with the backing of the Government of Gibraltar, were successful in their quest to source the necessary financial assistance to keep the company's Gibraltar operations running.

Fresh start

During the first quarter of 2006, Cammell Laird Group was sold in its entirety to private investors. The new owner's intention was to continue with the existing business whilst developing Super Yacht construction 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 a Chief Executive Officer, Finance Director, Operations Director and Projects & Development Director. In addition a Sales & Marketing Manager and Quality, Health & Safety Manager also joined the company.

The company continued to trade as Cammell Laird Gibraltar Ltd until 7 December 2009 when it was renamed Gibdock following the sale of the rights in the historic brand to Cammell Laird Shiprepairers and Shipbuilders in the UK for an undisclosed sum.

At present

Gibdock currently remains a highly successful ship and yacht repair facility, providing repair services to all sectors of the maritime industry.

External links

• Gibdock.com (official website)

Gibdock currently remains a highly successful ship repair and conversion facility, providing repair services to all sectors of the maritime industry.