Super yacht contract for shipyard

The new contract brings 140 jobs to the yard

A north Devon shipyard has won its first contract since being reopened.

Appledore Shipbuilders, which reopened earlier this year and is now owned by Plymouth company DML, is to design and build an 80m (262ft) super yacht.

Design work is to start immediately, providing work for more than 40 engineers already employed at the site.

The steel hull will also be built at Appledore, starting at the end of this year, which will employ up to 100 construction staff for about 12 months.

Appledore Shipbuilders went into receivership last September and was bought by DML, which runs Devonport Dockyard in Plymouth, in February.

DML signalled in the past it was considering using Appledore as a base for building specialist vessels such as military ships and super yachts.

Although the 140 jobs which have been secured by the contract are a far cry from the 550 at the site before it went into receivership, staff say it is a better alternative than a closed shipyard.

DML chief executive Dennis Gilbert said: "This is really excellent news. The project will provide the start we have been working hard to achieve in Appldore."