Robert Duncan and Company

Until the 1860s, he continued to build only sailing ships for worldwide buyers until in 1866 Duncan launched the first screw steamer.

Noteworthy is the twin-screw steamship Flying Serpent, built in 1886 at Duncan, later provided with a diesel engine, 1928 initially converted to a trawler, from 1951 then used as a cargo ship and only deleted in 1998 from the register.

[3] During the First World War the company produced freight ships and tramp steamers from Duncan's slipways.

Early in the war, in 1915, the shipbuilding company Lithgows (then known as Roberts & Co), took over the Duncan shipyard, but the yard continued to operate under its old trade name.

When the East Yard shipyard reopened in April 1937, it operated as a wholly owned subsidiary of Lithgows.