Major expansion for Liverpool’s MST with new shipyard facilities

Liverpool-based Marine Specialised Technology Group (MST) has undertaken a major expansion programme with the acquisition of a local River Mersey shipyard.

The company, which manufactures and maintains high-speed boats for global defence and security markets, secured Carmet Shipyard for an undisclosed sum during the second half of 2021. It has already embarked on a £1 million refurbishment programme covering the entire 6.5-acre site, with total refurbishment of the existing 80m main and 50m secondary boatbuilding halls, new offices, new car parking facilities, and the erection of additional composite and fabrication facilities.

The new facilities boast 25T overhead travelling gantry cranes, a 90m 700-tonne slipway that launches directly into the river, and a 100T WISE amphibious boat travel hoist which provides additional boat launch and recovery facilities and access onto the hard standing areas. These will allow the company to significantly expand its operations including the ability to manufacture much larger craft than current facilities permit.

MST has a long-term plan for further investment, which will see the facilities expanded and enhanced further to create a centre of excellence in the north west of the UK for small craft design, manufacture and service.

“We secured these new premises at just the right time,” says Philip Hilbert, MST’s sales director, “as we embark on several major contracts for our flagship HPB (high-speed patrol boat) range which have been, up until now, limited to a maximum 19m in length due to launching and logistical restrictions. The new larger facilities with its direct access to water now enables us to not only manufacture more craft at any one time but also to manufacture significantly larger vessels and we already have a 23m design being worked on as I speak.”

The new site’s direct water access is also a huge boost to the group’s service and maintenance division. MST Fleet Services can now offer its services to much larger craft arriving by water, and substantial contracts have already been secured with local operators which, combined with the planned expansion of the company’s new build division, will lead to a significant recruitment drive over the remainder of 2022.

The shipyard was originally founded in 1974 by McTay Marine and produced 119 vessels before going into liquidation in 2015 and was subsequently taken over by local tug operator Carmet Marine.