Gibdock is a
shipyard in the
British overseas territory of
Gibraltar
)
, anthem = " God Save the King"
, song = " Gibraltar Anthem"
, image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg
, map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe
, map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green
, mapsize =
, image_map2 = Gib ...
. It formerly operated as a
Royal Navy Dockyard
Royal Navy Dockyards (more usually termed Royal Dockyards) were state-owned harbour facilities where ships of the Royal Navy were built, based, repaired and refitted. Until the mid-19th century the Royal Dockyards were the largest industrial c ...
.
Royal Navy Dockyard
![Gibraltar Dockyard](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4a/Gibraltar_Dockyard.JPG)
HM Dockyard, Gibraltar was first developed in the 18th century. After the
Capture of Gibraltar, victualling facilities were provided from a small quay around what is now the
North Mole, but a lack of berths prevented further development. In the 1720s, however, the building of the
South Mole was accompanied by the establishment of a small dockyard facility consisting of a
careening
Careening (also known as "heaving down") is a method of gaining access to the hull of a sailing vessel without the use of a dry dock. It is used for cleaning or repairing the hull. Before ship's hulls were protected from marine growth by fasteni ...
wharf, mast house and various workshops. The yard remained relatively small in scale for a century and a half, although
coaling facilities were added in the 1840s.
In 1871 Captain
Augustus Phillimore made the proposal that a new naval dockyard should be constructed in Gibraltar. Phillimore's scheme lay dormant in the
Admiralty
Admiralty most often refers to:
*Admiralty, Hong Kong
*Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964
*The rank of admiral
*Admiralty law
Admiralty can also refer to:
Buildings
* Admiralty, Traf ...
for 22 years before it was put to Parliament in 1895. The idea was to take five years and just under £1.5m pounds. In 1896 the scheme was further extended with the creation of new moles and three dry docks and a new budget of £4.5m pounds. The transformation was large and the government were still passing enabling legislation in 1905.
To take pressure off the harbour facilities the
British Admiralty, decided to lay in heavy moorings off the harbour for its battleships, and to facilitate that, they imported from Britain an
air lock diving-bell plant
Port of Gibraltar, Gibraltar Harbour's air lock diving-bell plant, or caisson diving bell barge, was a purpose-built barge for the laying, examination and repair of moorings for battleships. It was designed by Siebe Gorman, Siebe Gorman & Company ...
, a purpose-built
barge
Barge nowadays generally refers to a flat-bottomed inland waterway vessel which does not have its own means of mechanical propulsion. The first modern barges were pulled by tugs, but nowadays most are pushed by pusher boats, or other vessels ...
in 1902.
Local conditions at Gibraltar dictated the need for such a craft. Most harbours have a soft seabed, and it is usual to lay down moorings by settling anchors in the mud, clay or sand but this could not be done in Gibraltar harbour, where the seabed is hard rock, requiring permanent moorings in place.
The dry docks
![Gibraltar Dry Docks](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/32/Gibraltar_Dry_Docks.jpg)
The three large
graving docks
A dry dock (sometimes drydock or dry-dock) is a narrow basin or vessel that can be flooded to allow a load to be floated in, then drained to allow that load to come to rest on a dry platform. Dry docks are used for the construction, maintenance, ...
initially known as docks Number ''1'', ''2'' and ''3'', were excavated on what had been the site of the old naval yard. ''Number 3 dock'', the smallest at just over 50,000 tons of water capacity, was the first to be named in 1903 and was named
King Edward VII
Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910.
The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria a ...
;
Queen Alexandra
Alexandra of Denmark (Alexandra Caroline Marie Charlotte Louise Julia; 1 December 1844 – 20 November 1925) was List of British royal consorts, Queen of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Empress of India, from 22 January 1901 t ...
named the 60,000 ton ''Number 2 dock'' after herself in 1906; and the largest, ''Number 1 dock'', which could hold over 100,000 tons of water, was called the Prince and Princess of Wales (later
King George V
George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936.
Born during the reign of his grandmother Qu ...
and
Queen Mary) dock, having been named by them in 1907.
In 1937 the warning of the Chiefs of Staff gave way to rearmament. The danger of a war being settled in the Mediterranean meant that No. 1 and No. 2 dock were extended so that Gibraltar could handle aircraft carriers and the new larger battleships.
[
]
Civilian ownership
The dockyard was used extensively by the Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...
, docking many of the Navy’s most prestigious ships. In the early 1980s a decision by the United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
's Ministry of Defence to cut back the Royal Navy surface fleet meant that the dockyard
A shipyard, also called a dockyard or boatyard, is a place where ships are built and repaired. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Dockyards are sometimes more associated with maintenance ...
was no longer financially viable.
In 1984 the dockyard passed into the hands of the UK ship repair and conversion company, A&P Group
A&P Group Ltd is the largest ship repair and conversion company in the UK, with three shipyards located in Hebburn, Middlesbrough and Falmouth. The company undertakes a wide variety of maintenance and repair work on commercial and military shi ...
. A government grant
Grant or Grants may refer to:
Places
*Grant County (disambiguation)
Australia
* Grant, Queensland, a locality in the Barcaldine Region, Queensland, Australia
United Kingdom
* Castle Grant
United States
* Grant, Alabama
* Grant, Inyo County, ...
and a prospect of lucrative Royal Fleet Auxiliary
The Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) is a naval auxiliary fleet owned by the UK's Ministry of Defence. It provides logistical and operational support to the Royal Navy and Royal Marines. The RFA ensures the Royal Navy is supplied and supported by ...
refit contracts did not help A&P Group however and they passed the yard into the hands of the Government of Gibraltar
His Majesty's Government of Gibraltar is the democratically elected government of the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. The head of state is King Charles III who is represented by the Governor. Elections in Gibraltar are held every four ...
.
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
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...
-based engineering and construction services company, Kværner
Kværner was a Norwegian engineering and construction services company that existed between 1853 and 2005. In 2004, it was amalgamated to the newly formed subsidiary of Aker ASA - Aker Kværner, which was renamed Aker Solutions on 3 April 2008 ...
, who ran the yard until 1996, the yard then closed for a period of approximately 18 months.
Cammell Laird
In 1997 the British shipbuilding
Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and other floating vessels. It normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation that traces its roots to befo ...
company Cammell Laird based in Merseyside
Merseyside ( ) is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in North West England, with a population of 1.38 million. It encompasses both banks of the Mersey Estuary and comprises five metropolitan boroughs: Knowsley, St Helens, Sefton, Wi ...
, 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.
Renaming to Gibdock
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. 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 Northwestern Shiprepairers & Shipbuilders
Northwestern Shiprepairers & Shipbuilders was a British shiprepair company based in Birkenhead on the River Mersey.
History
The Company was founded by John Syvret, a former Cammell Laird manager, in 2001. In 2002 50% of the business was sold t ...
in the UK for an undisclosed sum.''Gibraltar Chronicle'' - Cammell Laird Gibraltar becomes 'Gibdock'
At present
Gibdock currently remains a ship repair and conversion facility, providing repair services to all sectors of the maritime industry.
See also
*
Air lock diving-bell plant
Port of Gibraltar, Gibraltar Harbour's air lock diving-bell plant, or caisson diving bell barge, was a purpose-built barge for the laying, examination and repair of moorings for battleships. It was designed by Siebe Gorman, Siebe Gorman & Company ...
, a one-of-a-kind mobile barge-mounted engineering caisson used in the Port of Gibraltar
References
External links
Gibdock.com (official website)
{{Authority control
Docks (maritime)
Construction and civil engineering companies of Gibraltar
Companies established in 1904
1904 establishments in Gibraltar
Manufacturing companies established in 1904
Construction and civil engineering companies established in 1904