| Former type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Shipbuilding |
| Fate | Acquired |
| Predecessor | Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering |
| Successor | Kvaerner Govan |
| Founded | September 1972 |
| Defunct | 1988 |
| Headquarters | Govan, UK |
| Key people | Lord Strathalmond (Chairman) Eric Mackie OBE (Managing Director) |
| Employees | 6000 (1978) |
| Parent | British Shipbuilders (1977-1988) |
| Subsidiaries | Scotstoun Marine Ltd (1973-1980) |
Govan Shipbuilders Ltd (GSL) was a British shipbuilding company based on the River Clyde at Glasgow in Scotland. It operated the former Fairfield Shipyard and took its name from the Govan area in which it was located.
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.[1]
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 under the Aircraft and Shipbuilding Industries Act and subsumed into British Shipbuilders.[2]
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 the installation of seven 80 tonne travelling rope luffing cranes by Clarke Chapman, servicing the yard's three slipways.
In 1988 the Govan Shipbuilders was sold to the Norwegian group Kvaerner Industries and was renamed Kvaerner Govan Ltd.[3]