Rosyth Dockyard
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 | This article needs to be updated. (January 2010) |
Rosyth Dockyard is a large naval dockyard on the Firth of Forth at Rosyth, Fife, Scotland, which today primarily undertakes refitting of Royal Navy surface vessels. Rosyth Dockyard is owned by Babcock PLC.
History
Construction of the dockyard by civil engineers Easton, Gibb & Son commenced in 1909. At the time, the Royal Navy was strengthening its presence along the eastern seaboard of Great Britain due to a naval arms race with Germany.
Privatisation
Babcock Thorn, a consortium operated by Babcock International and Thorn EMI, was awarded the management contract for Rosyth dockyard in 1987; with Rosyth Dockyard becoming a government owned, contractor run facility. This contract was awarded in parallel with Devonport Management Limited's contract to run Devonport Dockyard, Plymouth. In 1993 the Ministry of Defence announced plans to privatise Rosyth. Babcock International, who had bought out Thorn's share of the original Babcock Thorn consortium, was the only company to submit a bid and after protracted negotiations purchased the yard in January 1997.
Nuclear submarine refitting
In 1984 Rosyth was chosen as the sole location for refitting the Royal Navy's nuclear submarine fleet (a role it was already specialising in), and in 1986 extensive rebuilding commenced to facilitate this new role. However in 1993, the government switched the refitting role to Devonport Dockyard.
Nuclear submarine decommissioning
Seven nuclear submarines are stored at Rosyth [1]:
Queen Elizabeth class aircraft carriers
The Royal Navy's two Queen Elizabeth class aircraft carriers are to be constructed across four UK shipyards, with final assembly at Rosyth.
External links
- 'Graveyard' fear as sub's hull is holed, Dunfermline Press, 3 April 2008
56°1′14″N 3°27′12″W / 56.02056°N 3.45333°W