The coaches were loaded onto the barges at Clifton, near Nottingham on the River Trent, and towed in pairs downriver by a twin-screwed tug named Motorman, built by Henry Scarr of Hessle in 1925.

[1] After the end of the Upholder-class submarine building programme in 1993, the owners of Cammell Laird, VSE, announced the yard's closure.

This was strongly opposed by the workforce through trade union campaigners including the GMB, led by communist firebrand official Barry Williams.

Coastline eventually bought part of the shipyard and adopted the Cammell Laird name, before floating on the London stock exchange in 1997 and acquiring dockyards at Teesside, Tyneside and Gibraltar.

After experiencing financial difficulties, partly due to the late withdrawal from a £50 million refit contract for the cruise ship Costa Classica cruise ship by Costa Crociere, the company was forced to enter receivership in April 2001, and the Birkenhead, Teesside and Tyneside shipyards owned by Cammell Laird shiprepair were acquired by the A&P Shiprepair Group in 2001.

[11] Peel Holdings, owners of the Mersey Docks and Harbour Company and 50% owners of Northwestern Shiprepairers & Shipbuilders, purchased the Cammell Laird shipyard site and surrounding land in January 2007, to facilitate the proposed Wirral Waters development, although Northwestern Shiprepairers & Shipbuilders continue to maintain a long-term lease on the shipyard facilities, which will form an integral part of the regeneration scheme.

"[13][14] In February 2008, it was announced that the company had won a £28m Ministry of Defence contract to overhaul the Royal Fleet Auxiliary ship RFA Fort Rosalie.

[15] In January 2010, it was announced that Lairds had received a £44m order for the flight decks of the Royal Navy's new aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth.

[18] In April 2014, the government authorised procurement of a Royal Research Ship for the British Antarctic Survey, at an estimated cost of £200 million.

[19] The vessel, named RRS Sir David Attenborough began sea trials in 2020; she took her maiden voyage to Antarctica in November 2021.

[20] It was announced in October 2017 that Cammell Laird had struck a 'teaming agreement' with BAE Systems to bid for Ministry of Defence contracts to build the Royal Navy's Type 31e frigates.

[22][23][24] In October 2018 it was announced that the yard had won 'Lot 3' of an MOD contract to maintain the four new Tide class of tankers for the RFA in a deal worth an estimated £262m.