- Office for Nuclear Regulation
- Our work
- Regulation and licensing
- Sites that we regulate
- Rosyth Royal Dockyard
Rosyth Royal Dockyard
Summary
- Operator/Licensee: Ministry of Defence (MoD)
- Parent body organisation: Babcock International Group
- Type of site: Submarine facility - partly operational/decommissioning
- Location: Rosyth, Fife, Scotland
Background
Rosyth Dockyard is a large naval dockyard on the Firth of Forth at Rosyth, Fife, Scotland, owned by Babcock Marine, which formerly undertook refitting of Royal Navy surface vessels and submarines. Its primary role is now as integration site for the Royal Navy's newest aircraft carriers - the Queen Elizabeth Class (QEC).
Construction of the dockyard by civil engineers Easton, Gibb & Son commenced in 1909. At the time, the Royal Navy was strengthening its presence along the eastern seaboard of Great Britain due to a naval arms race with Germany.
Babcock Thorn, a consortium operated by Babcock International and Thorn EMI, was awarded the management contract for Rosyth dockyard in 1987; with Rosyth Dockyard becoming a government owned, contractor run facility. This contract was awarded in parallel with Devonport Management Limited's contract to run Devonport Dockyard, Plymouth. In 1993 the Ministry of Defence announced plans to privatise Rosyth. Babcock International, who had bought out Thorn's share of the original Babcock Thorn consortium, was the only company to submit a bid and after protracted negotiations purchased the yard in January 1997.