goodbye shipbuilding

a birds eye view of the former swan hunter shipyards in wallsend, a sorry sight

Category:

Film & Animation

Tags:

• swans
• swan
• hunters
• shipyards
• wallsend
• documentary

[CLVASHJBHWFS]

@alanheath I feel the Sheffield Forgemasters loan was another example. We could well be recieving forged parts from france or the Japanese works set up by Vickers years ago.

[CLVASHJBHWFS]

Yes, it would be, as our yards still look like they belong in the 50s and 60s from a quick view of their layout. The UK does not like doing from scratch (would help). Technological innovation from the UK could well be of the benefit of Germany anyway (thinking of design of turbines at Heaton. Heaton turbine work's is a good example, in which the design team remains, for benefit of German manufacture. Just maintenance remains.There is still a lack of will in Britain. It's seems like mostly talk.

[alanheath]

@CLVASHJBHWFS Putting it like that, then there is no reason why there should not be. The problem is that the investment has already gone in whereas in the UK it would be from scratch. I think the lack of technological innovation in the UK put us back whereas in Germany for example that was always part of the mentality.

[CLVASHJBHWFS]

@alanheath True. They may help us re-balance. South Korea and other Asian Countries are looking to re-balance, but in the other way. I think many people think, when shipbuilding is mentioned, that it mean mass volume shipbuilding using 10s of thousands of people, and you know yourself that it's becoming less manpower intensive and more knowledge and IT based. I feel there's room in the future for realistic non warship building, and heavy industry in the UK.

[alanheath]

@CLVASHJBHWFS It does not bother me either if foreign companies buy up whatever is left of heavy industry in the UK. After all British companies own a great deal of service industries in many other countries. Let each specialise at what they are good at!

[CLVASHJBHWFS]

@alanheath Sorry for the first few words, as they did not make much sense. I hope you got the gist. A Japanese/UK tie up, in the UK, I think would be a good thing. It would not be any loss of pride to learn from Japan, or South Korea. South Koreans were learning from us only 30 odd years ago, but what goes around... Then there is the massive potential of Pallion too.

[alanheath]

@CLVASHJBHWFS Having worked with locating industries in certain places, I know one goes with the best deal.  And if people are going to be employed then it is much easier to negotiate. On the other hand there are EU rules on what is allowed. All things being equal, there is no reason why Mitsubishi cannot build ships in the UK.

[CLVASHJBHWFS]

@alanheath I guess it Mitsubishi would have to buy the land from the council. I don't know what sort of favourable conditions government can create for a realistic, non warshipbuilding industry. I'm sure we are at a disadvantage, compared to more expensive countries such as Japan, Germany, France, Italy, and recently South Korea. Tax areas, or lack of capital, thus making the hourly production far lower (and hence all those more expensive countries, are more effecient), are two problems we face.

[alanheath]

@bangersnmash4me This is nonsense. So if the jobs had gone to Sunderland and not Newcastle would you be arguing that Newcastle becomes independent?

[alanheath]

@CLVASHJBHWFS Why can't Mitsubishi build these ships in the UK? It is nothing to do with the government unless Mitsubishi wants some sort of a deal where it will pay less tax or get the land or something like that.