Shipbuilding

Shipbuilding boomed after the war. The world was hungry for ships ,and British yards were busy places.

In time, Germany and Japan were allowed once again to build ships, which they did with new purpose-built yards suited to the demands of a world of massive oil tankers and container ships.

British yards struggled with the balancing capacity and demand. Above all they were weighed down by outmoded work practices and facilities. Fixed price contracts in years of high inflation were the kiss of death

With lower wage economies on the rise, the place for British shipbuilding shrank back to naval vessels and pleasure craft. I tell the story of the decline but also the strong position in naval craft, largely the result of government policy in buying British rather than letting the market rule.

The longstanding engineering company, Babcock, has clearly understood the modern world with a marked shift towards maintenance alongside new build.

Throughout this period of massive change Harland & Wolff is one of the great survivors.

The image is of a Babcock apprentice at Rosyth Dockyard.