Govan Shipbuilders Ltd (GSL) was a British

shipbuilding Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and other Watercraft, floating vessels. In modern times, it normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation th ...

company based on the

River Clyde The River Clyde (, ) is a river that flows into the Firth of Clyde, in the west of Scotland. It is the eighth-longest river in the United Kingdom, and the second longest in Scotland after the River Tay. It runs through the city of Glasgow. Th ...

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. It operated the former Fairfield Shipyard and took its name from the

Govan Govan ( ; Cumbric: ''Gwovan''; Scots language, Scots: ''Gouan''; Scottish Gaelic: ''Baile a' Ghobhainn'') is a district, parish, and former burgh now part of southwest Glasgow, Scotland. It is situated west of Glasgow city centre, on the sout ...

area in which it was located.

History

The company was formed in 1972 by way of a purchase of the former Fairfield Shipyard in Govan from Sir Robert Smith, Liquidator of Upper Clyde Shipbuilders (UCS), itself a product of the amalgamation of several Clydeside yards; Fairfields, Alex Stephens, Charles Connell and Company, Yarrow Shipbuilders Ltd. and John Browns. Between 1973 and 1980 Scotstoun Marine Ltd, a subsidiary of Govan Shipbuilders, also operated the former Connell shipyard in Scotstoun. In 1977 the company was nationalised by the Labour government of

James Callaghan Leonard James Callaghan, Baron Callaghan of Cardiff ( ; 27 March 191226 March 2005) was a British statesman and Labour Party (UK), Labour Party politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1976 to 1979 and Leader of the L ...

under the Aircraft and Shipbuilding Industries Act 1977 (c. 3) and subsumed into British Shipbuilders. Between 1973 and 1988, a total of 53 ships were built by Govan Shipbuilders at the Govan (former Fairfield) shipyard. Investment in plant equipment at the yard during this period included expansion of the steel fabrication facilities and the installation of four 80 ton travelling rope luffing cranes in 1975 by Clarke Chapman, servicing the yard's three slipways, in order to increase the size of units that could be prefabricated. An additional three 80 ton cranes from Scotstoun Marine Ltd were dismantled and transferred to Govan after the Scotstoun yard closed in 1980; they remain distinctive due to their blue paintwork. In 1988 the Govan Shipbuilders was sold to the Norwegian group Kvaerner Industries and was renamed Kvaerner Govan.Privatising Defence Industries
NATO, 1994

References

External links

The Clyde-built ships data base - lists over 22,000 ships built on the Clyde

Faifield Shipyard, Govan - Clyde Waterfront Heritage
History of Glasgow Defunct shipbuilding companies of Scotland Manufacturing companies based in Glasgow Former defence companies of the United Kingdom Govan Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1972 British companies established in 1972 1972 establishments in Scotland Vehicle manufacturing companies disestablished in 1988 British companies disestablished in 1988 1988 disestablishments in Scotland British Shipbuilders {{shipbuilding-stub