The terms of the British Shipbuilders Act 1983 then required the company to begin a process of privatising its remaining assets.
The profitable warship-builders were sold off initially, with the merchant shipyards sold off or closed on a piecemeal basis, culminating in the sale of Govan Shipbuilders to Kværner in 1988 and Ferguson Shipbuilders to the privatised marine engine builder, Clark Kincaid, in January 1989.
British Shipbuilders continued to exist as a shell corporation in statute, in order to be accountable for any liabilities incurred during its operational history,[3] until it was abolished in 2013[4] as part of the Government's 2010 public bodies reforms.
From March 2013 any remaining liabilities of British Shipbuilders passed to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.
[5] Note: Harland and Wolff, Belfast was state-owned but did not form part of British Shipbuilders.