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Displaying items by tag: Dry docking Ulysses

#Shipbuilder - UK shipbuilder Cammell Laird saw profits and sales fall last year – but the shipyard on Merseyside which Afloat has noted is where Irish Ferries flagship Ulysses awaits drydocking, remains upbeat that it will win more new contracts.

As the Liverpool Echo writes the Birkenhead company reported turnover for the year to March 2016 of £99m – down from £115m in 2015 – thanks to an expected lull in military work.

Pre-tax profits fell by three quarters to £2.5m, down from £10m, accounts filed at Companies House show. But the group is hopeful it will win more military contracts and more work in the renewable energy and offshore wind power sector.

Cammell Laird had warned last year that it expected turnover to fall as there was a pause in military work.

In 2013 it signed a five-year contract extension to maintain nine Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) vessels.

During the year it completed refits of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary’s vessels Wave Knight, Black Rover, Fort Austin, Wave Ruler and Fort Rosalie. The latter replenishment stores supply ship Afloat adds is berthed in the facility's wet basin. Ulysses is also berthed here having completed a Dublin-Holyhead sailing then continued to Merseyside to arrive on Wednesday.  

The yard also completed work on parts of the Prince of Wales aircraft carrier, and did work for BAE Systems on the Astute Submarine.

Cammell Laird also completed contracts with firms including Irish Ferries, P&O and the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company.

In November 2015, Cammell Laird won the contract to design and build the new polar research vessel the RRS Sir David Attenborough – the boat almost named Boaty McBoatface. The project secured more than 400 jobs at the yard and another 100 jobs with local suppliers.

Sir David visited the shipyard last October for the keel-laying ceremony.

The Merseyside newspaper has more to report on  the shipyard's activities here.

Afloat adds that the yard also won a £6m contract to build a new carferry, Strangford II. The newbuild however during berthing trials last month on Strangford Lough as previously reported encountered vehicle ramp issues.

Published in Ports & Shipping

The Dragon was designed by Johan Anker in 1929 as an entry for a competition run by the Royal Yacht Club of Gothenburg, to find a small keel-boat that could be used for simple weekend cruising among the islands and fjords of the Scandinavian seaboard. The original design had two berths and was ideally suited for cruising in his home waters of Norway. The boat quickly attracted owners and within ten years it had spread all over Europe.

The Dragon's long keel and elegant metre-boat lines remain unchanged, but today Dragons are constructed using the latest technology to make the boat durable and easy to maintain. GRP is the most popular material, but both new and old wooden boats regularly win major competitions while looking as beautiful as any craft afloat. Exotic materials are banned throughout the boat, and strict rules are applied to all areas of construction to avoid sacrificing value for a fractional increase in speed.

The key to the Dragon's enduring appeal lies in the careful development of its rig. Its well-balanced sail plan makes boat handling easy for lightweights, while a controlled process of development has produced one of the most flexible and controllable rigs of any racing boat.