Maritime History of The United Kingdom - Shipbuilding

Shipbuilding

At the time of the creation of the United Kingdom, England had important royal dockyards at Harwich, Sheerness and Plymouth. A mechanised block mill was set up at Portsmouth in 1806 that was cheaper and faster than producing them by hand. As shipbuilding centres in the north east of England expanded, those in East Anglia declined.

Ship sizes increased in the 19th century due to the change from wood to iron and then steel. Yards in the north east and in Scotland became dominant. British yards produced the majority of the world's shipping at the end of the century, mostly tramp steamers.

In 1913 Britain had 61% of the world market, with 40% in 1920 but this had declined to 0.7% in 1997. Modernisation of the shipyards took place in the 1960s allowing construction of supertankers. The British yards were nationalised as part of the Aircraft and Shipbuilding Industries Act 1977 and renamed "British Shipbuilders" but were privatised again in the 1980s. Rosyth Dockyard was started in 1909 while HMNB Clyde (Faslane) submarine base was created in the 1960s. American nuclear submarines were based in Holy Loch but have since left.