UK infrastructure fund InfraStrata has added to its shipbuilding capacity with a takeover of Appledore Shipyard in England.
The move follows InfraStrata's rescue of historic Belfast yard Harland & Wolff (H&W) last year as it eyes fleet renewal deals and floating storage and regasification unit projects.
The company said it is paying £7m ($9.2m) for Appledore, a Devon plant that was shut down by former owner Babcock in March last year. It called the yard "highly strategic".
London-listed InfraStrata said the transaction reinforces the company "as a major player in the UK maritime and offshore engineering industry".
"We see Appledore playing a key role in an exciting new era for UK shipyards and shipbuilding; supporting our industry and revitalising economic growth," chief executive John Wood said.
Big pipeline of jobs
"Globally, there is an estimated £6bn pipeline of opportunities over the next five years, which we expect both yards to benefit from."
He added that in the UK there is insufficient shipbuilding capacity to meet demand, with a "substantial number" of UK vessels requiring replacement within 10 years.
This includes 150 state-owned ships.
"With two dry docks in H&W (Belfast) each at 356 metres and 556 metres in length, H&W Belfast comprises the two largest dry docks in the UK, the second largest in Europe," Wood said.
Appledore, on the other hand, with a covered drydock length of 119 metres, provides a vital asset for some of the smallest vessels.
There are very few shipyards in the UK that can offer this type of undercover building dock and repair facility, the company said.
"By leveraging both yards we can provide flexible capacity management and economies of scale," Wood said.
"We have a flexible and adaptable workforce able to deliver a wide range of contracts across five key sectors: commercial, defence, cruise and ferry, renewables, and oil and gas."
The group will also be able to accommodate other projects such as steel fabrication for industry and construction.
InfraStrata believes it can build the workforce to 800 at H&W and 300 at Appledore.
Gunning for gas
TradeWinds reported in June that the fund was considering the use of chartered, new or converted FSRUs for its soon-to-be acquired LNG import project for the UK.
Chief financial officer Arun Raman said InfraStrata is looking at kicking off a project, with a capacity of 5 million to 6 million tonnes per annum, using a single FSRU based at its planned site off Barrow-in-Furness on the UK’s north-west coast and later adding a second unit.
He said a second option would be to charter in a vessel and later replace it with a new FSRU.
Under a third, Raman said InfraStrata could take an old LNG carrier and convert it into an FSRU at H&W, which was first put up for sale by Norwegian owner Dolphin Drilling last year to raise capital, but failed to find a buyer.
The first phase of H&W's rebirth has been to establish a credible shiprepair business.
The yard has won repair and maintenance deals from Seatrucks, Irish Ferries, Stena and P&O Ferries already.
Appledore has previously built bulkers, LPG carriers, ferries and offshore support vessels.
