£150m shipyard merger brings hope for workers

A Cornish company's £150m takeover of a maritime group has brought hopes of long-term security for shipbuilding communities.

Balaena's purchase of APCL Group, which owns shipyards including Falmouth Docks, has put it at the centre of Britain's shipbuilding industry.

Based in Delabole, Cornwall, Balaena will now have 12 shipyards in total, and more than 2,000 employees across the UK and the Mediterranean.

Chief executive Simon Gillett said global instability had raised concerns about energy sources and defence capability, which he said would lead to "more shipbuilding, more ship repair" at Balaena's sites.

APCL Group is the parent company of A&P and Cammell Laird, which also have shipyards in Birkenhead on Merseyside, and on the Tyne.

Balaena will add these to its existing sites in Padstow and Gibraltar.

The A&P name has been a familiar presence at Falmouth Docks for nearly 40 years.

The site's future will be about growth, said Gillett.

He said his company focused on defence, offshore oil and gas, and renewables – and that all three sectors were expanding.

More work would "certainly" come to Falmouth, he added.

The deal also brings work linked to the Royal Navy's new Type 26 frigates.

There are hopes that a bolstered Balaena will be better placed to win other major defence contracts too.

Jayne Kirkham, Labour MP for Truro and Falmouth, said she was "really, really pleased that the investment has come from a Cornish company".

She described the move as "a real vote of confidence in British shipbuilding" and said she foresaw "more of a focus" on Falmouth Docks.

For apprentices like 20-year-old Zach Batt, the takeover has sparked optimism about the future.

He said: "It's really exciting to hear this sort of thing really… it's a nice bit of reassurance people want to invest down here."

Batt said it made him feel he could "work down here all my life, hopefully".

Balaena said it planned to modernise its sites and launch training and apprenticeship programmes with local colleges.

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